"We paid expensive fuel surcharges to travel to Spain, but the sky looks gray, likely because of wildfire smoke."

Such concerned reactions from travelers who paid steep travel costs to arrive in southern European destinations like Spain and France during the peak summer season are frequently appearing on online communities.

This is because disaster-level wildfires, fueled by raging heatwaves in places like Spain and France, are causing casualties and property damage in various areas.

Heatwaves exceeding 40°C (104°F) and devastating fires have plunged the European tourism market into severe difficulties this summer.

In Spain, as the worst wildfire damage in 19 years occurs, authorities have partially closed the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James), disrupting the tourism industry.

Large-scale wildfires have broken out in central regions of Spain, including Madrid, Toledo, and Avila, prompting evacuation orders for 100,000 people nationwide.

In particular, as the largest wildfire of the year broke out in Avila, Spain, full evacuation orders were issued for rural tourism complexes, countryside guesthouses, and campsites renowned for their outstanding natural scenery.

As acrid smoke from the heatwaves and wildfires spreads, major tourist attractions are also closing their doors one after another or shortening operating hours.

The Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, which usually stays open past midnight during the peak summer season, closed early at 4 p.m. over the weekend due to extreme heat, while the Louvre Museum and the Orsay Museum also reduced viewing hours and closed earlier than scheduled, causing significant inconvenience to tourists.

Even the concert for Bastille Day in France delayed its start time to avoid the heat, and the famous cycling race Tour de France shortened some of its stages for the first time in history.

Economic blows are also becoming visible.

Morgan Stanley and others have warned that combined losses from lowered labor productivity and hits to the tourism industry caused by these heatwaves and wildfires could reach up to 7% of Spain's gross domestic product (GDP) within the next four years.

Officials at domestic travel agencies, who posted lackluster performances due to soaring fuel surcharges caused by war, are also on pins and needles.

They were unable to properly sell European packages for this summer peak season, and they are concerned that the heatwaves and wildfires might inflict further negative impacts.

An official from a travel agency said, "Wildfires could be prolonged due to dry weather and strong winds," adding, "We are especially worried about the severe deterioration of air quality caused by high temperatures and fire smoke."

The problem is that the popularity of southern European resort destinations is structurally declining due to such disaster situations.

In fact, according to research by a local financial institution in Spain, the revisit rate of foreign tourists who experienced extreme heatwaves dropped by about 15%.

Another travel agency official said, "We were already crying because demand for Europe dropped significantly, and now Europe's heatwaves and wildfires are troubling us as well," and added, "We are waiting for demand to increase as fuel surcharges drop slightly, but we are worried that wildfires and heatwaves might pour cold water on that."

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)