A shift in visitor perceptions
In the Scottish Highlands, James MacLeod, concierge at the Glencoe House Hotel, has noticed a change in what brings tourists to the region. "People used to come to the Highlands and say, 'it's beautiful – shame about the weather'," he said. "Now they're coming for the weather." He added that visitors "don't seem to care about the midges or the rain anymore" and are "just glad it's not too hot."
This anecdote reflects a broader trend: climate change is redrawing Europe's summer tourism map. Wildfires, droughts, and record-breaking heatwaves are making summer months increasingly uncomfortable and unpredictable across southern Europe, while Scotland and other northern European nations are positioning themselves as "coolcation" escapes.
Data supports the trend
Visitor numbers to northern Europe were up 10% from April to June this year compared with the same period in 2025, according to the European Travel Commission (ETC), which represents Europe's national tourism bodies. The ETC classifies northern Europe as Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, and the UK, and said the region had "outperformed all other European subregions."
Travel agency Trip.com found that searches for cooler holiday destinations this summer increased by 74% from January to April this year compared with the first four months of 2025, as travellers sought to "escape the heat" and shifted attention to places with more comfortable climates. Holiday-rental group Awaze reported that searches for "escape the heat" rose three-fold in the past three months, while "coolcation" searches were up more than four-fold. Within the UK, holiday rental website Cottages.com said its Scottish portfolio has been the most viewed this summer.
In Glencoe, Emily Bryce, operations manager at the National Trust for Scotland, said visitor numbers this summer are up 8% from a year ago, with visitors telling staff it is "refreshingly cool here compared with the south of France."
Changing holiday habits
Chris Greenwood, a senior researcher at Glasgow Caledonian University's Moffat Centre for Travel and Tourism Business Development, pointed to a "massive shift" in where high-net-worth UK families go on summer holidays, with a growing number swapping places like Tuscany for the Scottish Highlands. Greenwood also noted that in 2026, Scotland stopped selling itself as "rugged" and started selling itself as "temperate."
Adaptation and infrastructure
The National Trust for Scotland has expanded parking areas and is investing in a 5km cycle route in Glencoe, with plans for a park-and-ride system and shuttle buses between mountain ranges. The Glencoe Mountain Resort skiing centre is also adapting to unreliable winter snow, with its chairlift, once mainly for skiers, now carrying mountain bikes to the top of a downhill track.
Edinburgh has become the first city in the UK to introduce a tourist tax, adding a 5% fee to hotel room costs, which is expected to raise as much as £50 million annually, according to Yahoo News New Zealand's reporting, which quoted Edinburgh Council Leader Jane Meagher.
Pressures elsewhere in northern Europe
The trend is not without its challenges. The Hague in the Netherlands made headlines after a New York Times article described it as a new "coolcation" hotspot while "southern Europe overheats." Streets in Kijkduin, a popular coastal district of The Hague, have had to be officially closed to all but residents at times this summer to prevent gridlock caused by a huge influx of cars with Belgian, German, and Dutch numberplates. Residents of Zandvoort have put up fake diversion road signs to try to keep tourists away.
Local challenges
Even as the Highlands benefit, the region faces its own climate pressures. Wildfires scorched both the Cairngorms National Park and Edinburgh's Arthur's Seat in July, a reminder that cooler destinations are not immune to the effects of a warming climate.