ETC: Climate Change Impacting Greece’s Online Reputation

Climate change, and more specifically, the devastating fires on Rhodes and floods in Greece last year have taken a toll on the country’s online reputation, according to a report released this week by the European Travel Commission (ETC) in collaboration with MMGY TCI Research.

According to “The Climate Change & Tourism in Europe” report which assessed online conversations in 2022, Greece together with Italy and Spain were the top three Mediterranean destinations affected most by online traveler discussions on the topic of climate change.

Source: ETC

A large volume of online conversations concerning Greece focused on the Rhodes fires and the subsequent floods in Central Greece. As a result, the country reported the lowest score for 2023 in addition to a focus of conversations on safety issues. Greece saw a fall of 57 points, followed by Italy at 53 points, and Spain at 49 points.

Analysts note that stories and consumer concerns are more severe when they involve hindrances to travel itineraries, and especially safety concerns.

Italy and Spain also saw reputations affected when the topic of climate change was brought up in online conversations having also suffered serious droughts, heatwaves, and forest fires last year but there was little focus on safety.

Volume of conversations: The number of mentions of climate change within the context of travel in Europe had a relatively stable level throughout most of 2023, demonstrating a clear peak during July due to the occurrence of the wildfires on the island of Rhodes and the safety concerns surrounding the situation. Although the topic lost some traction in the succeeding months, stories on floods, droughts, and more forest fires maintained its relevance in August and September. Source: ETC

According to the report, overall conversations about climate change in travel planning forums worldwide were fairly consistent throughout 2023, with slight peaks during the summer and winter. Topics included recommendations on where to travel to avoid the summer heat, air quality, and rain.

Report analysts conclude that the results of the study indicate that climate change is a highly polarized topic in the context of travel, with the capacity to both dampen and heighten destination reputation at large very quickly.