Experts urge travel agencies to do more to protect tourists during climate emergencies

Travel agencies need to take a more active role in protecting travelers from extreme conditions due to climate change, according to experts who spoke with de Volkskrant. This comes as wildfires are currently on the Greek islands and other places in Europe, where Dutch tourists had to be evacuated at the beginning of the week.

Jan van der Borg, a tourism professor at KU Leuven, emphasized the importance of travel companies acknowledging their formal and moral obligations towards their customers. “Extreme situations due to climate change can no longer be denied; they are the new normal.” He said he believes that travel companies must anticipate and prepare for these situations.

A recent incident in Greece highlighted the need for travel companies to better anticipate and respond to emergencies. Dutch tourists, led by travel company Corendon to a hotel near a forest fire, had to evacuate just ten minutes after arrival. Corendon initially claimed that they relied on local authorities for safety information but later admitted that those authorities may have delayed closing the area. “We have no choice but to rely on their decision-making,' the company said.

However, experts warn against relying only on local authorities' information, as regions depending on tourism might hesitate to issue warnings and might delay necessary protective measures to avoid potential harm to the local economy.

Harald Buijtendijk, a senior lecturer at Breda University of Applied Sciences, suggested that travel companies, especially large ones such as TUI and Corendon, should assume greater responsibility. He pointed out that these companies, with their extensive resources, including flights, bus transportation, and hotels, can rely on their own staff during disasters. This can be especially helpful when the information from local authorities becomes unreliable during crises.

However, Buijtendijk noted that large travel organizations are generally linked to a calamity fund which only covers the costs of canceling trips or bringing travelers home if a situation is officially classified as a "calamity". “'Such a fund was conceived for emergencies, for situations that occur very rarely. Not for a climate crisis,” he explained.

This can be problematic along the Mediterranean, a region very popular among travel agencies but increasingly affected by climate change. Buijtendijk advised that if tour operators want to continue offering trips to such areas, they must provide more consistent information to their travelers and allocate more resources for dealing with emergencies.

Van der Borg also criticized travel industry training courses for focusing too much on hospitality and marketing. Instead, he suggested including more content on geopolitics and climate change.

In a response to the newspaper, Corendon's general manager Steven van der Heijden "completely disagrees” with the proposal to let travel companies evaluate on-ground situations, arguing that it is impractical and outside their expertise and should be the government's responsibility.

TUI, the Netherlands' largest travel company, told the newspaper that it already monitors situations at vacation destinations through its Crisis Management and Business Continuity team. “That team includes employees with different areas of expertise.”

Breda University of Applied Sciences will introduce a mandatory course on climate change next year in their tourism program to help students understand its implications and “shape future-proof tourism, Buijtendijk added.