Extreme heat poses ‘real risk’ to Spain’s mass tourism industry

Tourists visiting popular Spanish sites such as the Alhambra are advised to follow the cues of local people in how to stay cool. Photograph: Jon Nazca/Reuters

The climate emergency poses a “real risk” to Spain’s traditional mass tourist model as rising temperatures and more frequent heatwaves hit the country’s most popular coastal destinations, a senior public health adviser has warned.

Héctor Tejero, the head of health and climate change at Spain’s health ministry, said the increasingly apparent physical impacts of the climate emergency had already led the ministry to begin talks with the British embassy on how best to educate “vulnerable” tourists about coping with the heat.