Staycations and Coolcations are the new ways to holiday

This year, I’ve taken my holidays in Whitstable, Kent, where I live. I’ve swum in the unusually warm sea, and dined out locally using the money saved on an exorbitantly priced overseas vacation. I’m so tanned, people have asked if I’ve been to Spain or Greece. With temperatures rising, and the biggest fire season in European history, I may soon have more company in opting for a staycation.

Climate change is redrawing the travel map. It could make parts of southern Europe too hot for even the most dedicated sunseekers, and transform more northerly spots, such as the Kent coast, into viable vacation destinations. There’s also the potential for regions offering less traditional summer getaways, such as Norway, to exploit their more comfortable climate through so-called coolcations.

Ever since the dawn of mass tourism, travelers from northern European countries, such as Britain, Germany and parts of Scandinavia, have migrated south to find the sun. Richard Clarke, an analyst at Bernstein, has estimated that the ideal temperature for a beach holiday is between 23C (73F) and 31C. As of 2020, the whole of the south European coast — the Mediterranean, Portugal, the French Atlantic and the Black Sea — was in this sweet spot, with most of the Northern European coast too cold. However, if August temperatures were two degrees warmer on average, the southern coasts of Spain, Sicily and Cyprus would become too hot. Many coastal regions in Northern Europe, including the southern UK, Benelux and North Germany, would enjoy average weather conditions of more than 23C, making them more attractive destinations.

It is not just the south of England that might benefit. According to the Met Office, Britain’s climate is on the move, with northern areas now experiencing warmer temperatures that were once the preserve of the south. If this trend continues, it could breathe fresh life into more northerly seaside towns, such as Morecambe, Scarborough — and Skegness, already dubbed “Skeg Vegas” because of its bustling nightlife.

In 2021, Blackstone Inc. made a bet on Brits favoring staycations by acquiring Bourne Leisure, which combined caravan and lodge park operator Haven with the adults-only Warner Leisure Hotels and historic holiday camp Butlin’s. It sold Butlin’s back to one of the founding families a year later. Blackstone has been investing in leisure activities and restaurants to offer more inviting stays and better value. This is paying off, with Haven, which has parks throughout Britain, enjoying strong growth in visitor numbers this year.

Even if a north-south temperature divide persists in the UK, there’s another reason why more British holiday destinations could have a shot at regaining their former glory: coolcations, which have been bubbling for the past three years but moved into the mainstream in 2026 and are starting to be reflected in holiday sales. Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden and Norway are proving particularly popular for bookings this August, according to AirDNA, which tracks the vacation rental market. In contrast, August bookings to Spain are down 11% year-on-year.

Among 2026’s fastest-growing destinations are Oviedo in northern Spain, with bookings for July and August up 28% from 2025, and Warsaw, up 20%, according to online travel agent EDreams Odigeo SA. Scotland is also proving popular with Europeans seeking relief from the searing heat. Searches this year for flights in June, July and August rose 12% from 2025, according to travel platform Skyscanner. The number of Spanish travelers booking trips to Edinburgh in July and August rose 19% year on year, EDreams found.

Some regions, such as rural Scotland and Norway, have scope to encourage more tourism; the number of flights to Norway, for example, has increased. Options to increase accommodation in some German locations, and parts of the UK coast are limited, but there are ways to tackle this, such as purchasing rival operators or revamping existing sites. TUI AG has done the latter in Germany, turning properties into a family friendly hotel on the island of Sylt and an upmarket holiday club in the Fleesensee lake area.

Ski resorts are another way to tap into demand for cooler mountain air, swapping snowboarding for walking and cycling in the warmer months, Eleanor Scott, a partner at PwC, told me. Spanish searches for trips to Switzerland in June, July and August are up 15% compared with last year, according to EDreams. Travel companies should also consider offsetting any slowdown at beach destinations in the peak summer months by extending the so-called shoulder season on either side. Stays stretching out to February and November may be viable for southern Spain, the Balearic Islands, Sicily, Sardinia and the Greek islands.

Addressing the shift away from patterns established over decades isn’t straightforward for hotel operators and airlines. After all, Spain, Italy and Greece remain among the most popular destinations. But if 2026 becomes the new normal, tourism companies would be wise to add capacity in newly compelling resorts and coolcation spots wherever possible.