Travel has never been hotter, literally.

With each passing year, extreme weather events are increasingly disrupting travel around the world. In 2023, which was supposedly a year of revenge travel, a barrage of disasters -from Europe’s extreme summer heat and wildfires in Canada to flooding in Australia and New Zealand - devastated global destinations. Most recently, a brutal heatwave scorched Southeast Asia with temperatures soaring into the high 30s and triggering health warnings around the region.

“Climate change is impacting our destinations in a way that affects both local life and tourism,” said Hamish Keith, CEO of Exo Travel. “We’ve observed more frequent and intense weather events, such as floods and heatwaves, sometimes leading to temporary closures or changes in tour schedules.”

In Japan, unpredictable snowfall at ski resorts, coral bleaching and earlier cherry blossom seasons are disrupting travel patterns, complicating timing for visitors, said Masaru Takayama, president, Spirit of Japan Travel.

Sustainable travel proponent (from left): Yaana Ventures' Willem Niemeijer, Exo Travel’s Hamish Keith, Tribe Tours' Yock Song Law and Intrepid Travel’s Mike Steward.

Coping with climate’s upheaval

 As heatwaves stretch, tour operators and DMCs in Asia are adjusting their programmes and itineraries to cope with soaring day-time temperatures. Common tactics including starting outdoor and active tours, such as cycling, trekking, earlier in the day to avoid peak heat and planning urban walks with ample shade and rest time.

Willem Niemeijer, CEO at Yaana Ventures and founder of Khiri Travel, said: “During really hot weather, we recommend our guests to bring down the pace in itineraries, start a little earlier and, if possible, stay indoors during midday and enjoy the hotel pool a little more. Certain activities, say diving, are much less affected by temperatures.”

So far, climate change’s biggest impacts have been on infrastructure, observed Exo Travel’s CEO Hamish Keith. “For example, the Topas Riverside Lodge in Sapa, Vietnam suffered extensive damage from flash flooding in late 2023, leading to its permanent closure. This unexpected event necessitated the relocation of our tours to alternative properties.

“Similarly, in northern Laos the Muang La Lodge was irreparably damaged following a dam breach. As a result, we had to reroute one of our most popular North Laos journeys to Nam Kat Yor Lapa, located approximately an hour away. We’ve experienced similar situations in Indonesia that is very prone to climate change and even more recently in Japan,” said Keith, whose company operations span across 11 countries in the region.

Consumer demand lags awareness

Overall, industry players feel that Southeast Asia is in a relatively fortunate position, as climate impacts, to date, had not been too extreme. Travel customers, generally, haven’t expressed concerns about climate change, although that differs from market to market.

Thanks to its long-renowned standing as a responsible adventure travel company, Intrepid’s customers – of which the majority hail from Europe, North America and Australia – are already “climate aware” and actively seek out sustainable travel experiences, noted Mike Steward, Thailand and Laos general manager at Intrepid Travel.

“Clients ask our guides more detailed questions about sustainability now,” he shared. Having been a carbon-neutral business in 2010 and biggest B Corp in the tourism sector since 2018, Intrepid is now working towards science-based emission cut targets.

In Singapore, Tribe Tours is seeing rising interest in sustainability experiences. Travellers are no longer contend with just visiting and exploring major attractions in the city but are looking to incorporate knowledge learning within their tours, according Yock Song Law, head of partnerships & business developments at Tribe Tours. Some are even seeking out unique sustainability experiences in Singapore, e.g. vertical farms, to understand the country’s strategies in food resilience or sustainable architecture.

Tribe Tours rolls out more sustainability experiences like "Zero to Hero" - dubbed the "dirtiest tour" - where guests forage vegetable waste and ugly food at local wet markets for a unique cultural take. Photo Credit: Tribe Tours

Tribe Tours is hence rolling out more experiences of such nature. “Zero to Hero”, which Law dubs the “dirtiest tour”, takes guests into the heartlands and visit local wet markets where they could get a unique take on local culture while foraging for vegetable waste and ugly food. During the tour, they will be walked through the fundamentals of Singapore’s public housing, from food waste composting at wet markets to solar panels on rooftops.

At present, however, sustainability appears to be a lower priority for leisure travellers than factors like pricing, said Yock Song, who also organises events for corporate and educational groups. “Business events will drive sustainability, whereas decisions in the leisure segment is less inclined to be driven by sustainability and rather about pricing.”

Why industry response matters

To reduce environmental impact, DMCs and tour operators are encouraging slower travel among customers, spending longer and doing more in a destination. This way, travellers will spend longer and incorporate more activities within a destination, incurring a smaller carbon footprint than packing multi cities within an itinerary.

Using trains, bikes and public transport reduces environmental impact and also provides a uniquely local experience. Furthermore, DMCs are also incorporating low-carbon transport options such as electric bikes, electric tuk-tuks and solar-powered boats into their tours.

“Fly less domestically or regionally, and stay longer in locations. You'll enjoy learning more about these communities, beyond ticking off the highlights. Take the train more often, plant trees or otherwise support environmental projects while traveling,” Khiri Travel’s Nimeijer suggested.

A portion of traveller spending at Cardamom Tented Camp aids in preserving 18,000 hectares of lowland rainforest. Photo Credit: Yaana Ventures

On the ground, Yaana Ventures is also actively involved in reforestation projects on the ground. The group’s lodges in Chiang Rai and Khao Sok have reforestation projects on their properties, while Cardamom Tented Camp helps to keep 18,000 hectares of low land rainforest standing. “It's practical environmental and pollution busting programmes we feel we, and other tourism companies, can play a practical, hands-on role,” stated Nijiemer.

Exo Travel is now working with Path Net Zero to measure its carbon footprint and Ecollective to calculate the environmental impact of each of our experiences. This approach allows us to attribute emissions to specific activities based on their characteristics and scale. “This data-driven approach not only helps us quantify emissions but also informs strategic decisions aimed at minimising our carbon footprint while maximising the sustainability of our offerings,” said Keith.

“We have also partnered with Hotel Resilient to create an online platform that ranks and reviews hotels based on a range of sustainability metrics. The organisation summarises the key indicators of the property’s commitment to sustainability and ranks it based on a series of criteria. That way, we aim to promote responsible properties taking action to reduce their carbon footprint and ultimately resilience to climate change.”

“Sustainability is becoming an expectation for travellers nowadays, rather than for a certain segment,” said Stewart. However, he also observes a greater eagerness among B2B partners in sustainability, with partners asking about purposes and supply chains. This can only be a positive thing. As climate awareness grows, industry players are also spurred to keep up their green actions. “I believe this will force a change in the travel chain.”

Ultimately, collective action as an industry needed.

“Tourism is at the forefront. If we don’t look at it, tourism will be dramatically impacted,” said Steward. “We need to work and collaborate for change to happen. We need to move faster.”

This article is part of Travel Weekly Asia's April-June 2024 issue. Click here to read more from that issue.