TRAVERSE 42
Increasingly they ask, How will I be treated when I get there? That is a profound change. For some, politics is becoming a travel consideration in much the same way that weather or cost has always been. Canada ' s relationship with the US is an obvious example. Cross-border travel has fallen sharply, while destinations elsewhere have benefited from travellers looking for alternatives.
The phenomenon has become sufficiently significant that analysts have begun talking about a " Trump slump ". The US is discovering that a country ' s international reputation can be a tourism asset, and that it can also be damaged.
The irony is that tourism has historically been one of the great forces for breaking down political barriers. We travel to see people who are different from us. We eat their food, attempt their language, sleep in their towns and discover that the world is usually considerably less frightening when experienced at street level than it appears on a television screen.
But the political climate of 2026 is making those choices more complicated.
Russia ' s invasion of Ukraine continues to cast a long shadow across European travel, while the broader deterioration in relations between Russia and the West has altered visa policy and mobility. In June, Swedish migration minister Johan Forssell argued that Ukrainian men of military age should be returned from Europe to support Ukraine ' s war effort, while several European countries pushed for tighter restrictions on Russian visas.
Travel has always reflected politics. What is different now is the speed with which political decisions can alter the practical mechanics of travel.
A visa rule announced in the morning can change an itinerary in the afternoon. And nowhere is that more apparent than Europe ' s new Entry / Exit System.
The EES is designed to modernise Europe ' s external borders by digitally registering non-EU travellers and replacing traditional passport stamping with biometric checks. In theory, it should eventually make border management more efficient.
In practice, 2026 has demonstrated the uncomfortable period between introducing technology and making it work.
Border delays have become a major concern. The WTTC warned that prolonged EES delays could put as many as 41 million visitor arrivals and US $ 45.4 billion in visitor spending at risk.
The irony is deliciously travel-industry appropriate: a system designed to make crossing borders smoother has, in some circumstances, made crossing borders slower. The problem has become serious enough that the European Union is now considering extending flexibility around the full implementation timetable. EU tourism commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas has reportedly backed extending derogations to prevent further disruption.
For travellers, it is another reminder that international travel is becoming increasingly bureaucratic.
Passports, visas, electronic travel authorisations, biometric databases, social-media screening and changing border requirements mean the days of simply buying a ticket and turning up are disappearing.
But perhaps the most profound change occurring beneath all of this is not political. It is climatic.
For decades, climate change was treated by the tourism industry as a problem for the future. The future has arrived rather abruptly.
This European summer has provided another demonstration. Temperatures above 40 ° C have been recorded across parts of the continent, while Italy placed all 27 of its monitored cities under its highest heat alert. Austria and Slovakia have recorded national temperature
a visa rule made in the morning can change an itinerary in the afternoon records, France has faced serious wildfire risks and water levels in major European rivers have fallen dramatically. For travellers, this changes the basic equation. The Mediterranean holiday has traditionally meant July and August: long days, hot weather and outdoor living.
But what happens when " hot " becomes dangerously hot?
Museums and attractions alter opening hours. Cities move activity into the evening. Tour operators modify itineraries. Travellers seek cooler destinations, higher elevations and different seasons.
The OECD ' s 2026 tourism report now treats adaptation to extreme weather as a mainstream tourism policy issue rather than some distant environmental concern.
That may ultimately be one of the biggest changes to travel this decade.
We could see a gradual rearrangement of the tourism calendar. Spring and autumn may become more attractive in traditionally hot destinations. Northern Europe could benefit. Mountain regions could gain visitors. Coastal destinations may increasingly have to manage water, fire and heat risks.
And the same climate pressures are affecting the
TRAVERSE 42