Vacation complication: Climate change a growing factor in travel

Climate change is complicating life for vacationers like never before.

The same characteristics that draw travelers to many of the most popular travel destinations are also what make those places susceptible to increasingly extreme weather as heat-trapping pollution continues to drive temperatures upward.

Take last month's wildfires in Hawaii, where nature actually threw a climatological curve at resort-rich Maui.

Isolated in the warm Pacific Ocean nearly 3,000 miles west of Mexico, Maui and the rest of Hawaii's islands are vulnerable to severe tropical weather.

Hurricane Dora missed Hawaii by hundreds of miles as it passed to the south in early August, but remnants of its powerful winds still buffeted Maui and fanned flames that torched more than 2,000 acres turned to tinder in extremely dry weather.

Lahaina, where the most lethal fire broke out Aug. 8, means "cruel sun" in Hawaiian. The town is on the hotter, drier west portion of Maui, which browns even faster in consistently warmer conditions.

In this case, Dora delivered not rain, flooding or storm surge, but rather served as bellows for the flames.

That forced an abrupt change in plans for thousands of visitors who were scheduled to arrive in the days and weeks after the fire.

"We've received more than 2,000 travel insurance claims for trips to Maui, with 83% of those claims for trips cancellations," said Daniel Durazo, spokesman for travel and insurance company Allianz Partners.

Burning Man soaked

The disappointment and inconvenience of a scrubbed vacation pale in comparison to the deaths (at least 115) and destruction (2,200 buildings) in Maui. But those disrupted trips underscore the increasingly unpredictability of natural events, said Michael Altman, director of the Hospitality and Tourism Management Program at Meredith College in Raleigh.

"We need look no further than the recent events at Burning Man to see how climate change is becoming more overt and continuing to endanger outdoor festivals due to the increasing risk of heat exposure — and in this case torrential rains — to see that the risks of travel are increasing," explained Altman, referring to the festival in the Nevada desert where thousands of attendees were stranded for days by flooding.

Like that desert deluge, other unexpected impacts of climate change are interrupting vacations.

Travelers to New York City this summer likely never imagined encountering the worst air quality in the world when smoke from Canadian wildfires hundreds of miles away shrouded the area and obscured the iconic skyline.

That kind of experience can sour travelers on a destination, even if what they experienced is — or was — out of the ordinary.

"This (also) means that weather, and the consistency of it in places like Mexico and other Caribbean hot spots, guarantees that many travelers will return year after year to the same destination if the weather is good," Altman said. "So, all things being equal, people will be less likely to travel to destinations where weather and severe weather-related events are becoming more of a factor."

'Out of harm's way'

In the face of uncertainty, there are two key ways for vacationers to protect themselves financially from the fickle forces of nature, experts say: careful planning and travel insurance.

"Weather is one of the first considerations when planning any trip," said Ashley Stevens, owner of Trellis Travel in Greensboro. "We recommend destinations based on our clients' interests, while taking into consideration the time of year and the impact that weather will have on their vacation plans."

A trip to a Florida beach in September might sound enticing, but that also is the height of hurricane season for a state that has been hit by three of the powerful storms in just the last two years.

But that doesn't mean a tropical trip is necessarily out of the question for the same time period, Stevens added.

"I introduce (customers) to certain Southern Caribbean destinations that have proven historically to be out of harm's way when the big storms blow through," she explained. "They have fantastic beaches, world-renowned diving and snorkeling, and a broad selection of villas, resorts and boutique hotels."

Travelers also should let more than price be the guide when mapping out their vacations, suggested Tiffany Wright, spokeswoman for AAA Carolinas.

"Certain destinations and resorts can be cheaper than other times of the year because it's during the rainy or monsoon season," she said. "So while you might save a ton of money on your trip, you could be in danger of rainy days ruining your outdoor activities.

'Smart hedge'

Insurance can insulate vacationers financially from the impact of weather events while on their trip or reimburse a portion of what they paid ahead of time.

"Travel insurance products have always been a smart hedge for travelers worried about increasing severe weather and natural disasters due to climate change," said Durazo of Allianz Partners.

But travelers should take care when shopping for plans, warned Jason Tyson, communications director at the N.C. Department of Insurance.

"Travel insurance policies have very specific limitations and exclusions," Tyson said. "Read the coverage materials carefully and ask questions as needed, so that you understand the benefits being offered."

Some plans allow vacationers to cancel or interrupt a trip if their destination becomes uninhabitable, if a natural disaster prevents their travel carrier from getting them to their destination within 24 hours of the originally scheduled arrival time, or when government authorities order a mandatory evacuation, noted Durazo.

As travel became uncertain during the COVID-19 pandemic, more customers embraced policies that cover the cost of trip cancellations for virtually any reason.

Those options also apply for travelers if it "becomes too hot at their destination, which is a serious concern during climate change and which many travelers experienced first-hand this summer in Europe," Durazo added.