The luxury travel market is adapting faster than the mass market. According to Skift Research, summer hotel bookings in northern latitudes rose by 38% in 2024 compared to 2019, and by more than 52% in 2025. In the premium segment, the shift is even sharper: Virtuoso reports a 60% increase in bookings for Scandinavia, northern Scotland, Iceland, and Canada among affluent clients from the US, Europe, and the Middle East. A similar trend is evident in Russia, where demand for high-end routes in Karelia, the Vologda region, and the Svalbard archipelago nearly doubled compared to 2022, with 30% of clients citing climate comfort as the main driver

The five-star resorts of pools and palms are being replaced by the aesthetics of the northern retreat: glass villas overlooking fjords, eco-lodges in pine forests, and self-sufficient houses on remote islands. The hottest new destinations are the Faroe Islands, Finnish Lapland, Greenland, the Orkney Islands, and Switzerland’s glacial valleys. In Russia, demand is booming for northern Karelia, the Solovetsky Islands, Kamchatka, and Yamal

Coolcation: How Climate, Capital, and Culture Are Reshaping Global Tourism in 2025

The summer of 2025 confirms it: coolcation, once dismissed as an eccentric trend of the anxious class, has now firmly taken hold as a new reality in the travel behavior of affluent tourists. The term "coolcation"—from cool and vacation—has become a symbol of climate-driven reorientation in luxury travel. It is no longer just a seasonal fad but a structural shift in the global tourism industry, propelled by climate change, cultural fatigue with southern exotica, and, paradoxically, the rising value of silence, restraint, and coolness

Coolcation is not just about choosing a "cool" destination—it's about redefining the entire aesthetics of vacationing. The rejection of overheated southern spots—from the Maldives to Marrakech—comes amid global warming: in 2024, France, Italy, Spain, and Turkey all recorded extreme temperatures above 45 °C. This is not just unpleasant but dangerous: the WHO estimates that heatwaves in Europe in 2023 led to more than 60,000 premature deaths. These figures underpin a new anxiety among the wealthy: heat is no longer synonymous with idyllic leisure

Historically, the idea of summering in cooler climates is not new. In the 19th century, European aristocrats spent summers in the Alps, Brittany, Scottish castles, or country estates in Karelia. Seasonal migration northward is a leisure model returning in the 21st century—but now in the context of climate anxiety, sustainability, and personalized luxury. In this century, coolcation has become not only a way to "escape the heat" but also part of a new cultural identity: quiet, aesthetic, and visually minimalist travel replacing the image of conspicuous consumption

Tourism climate maps are also investment maps. Major players in luxury hospitality are shifting their focus. Six Senses, Aman, Lefay Resort, Belmond, and others are developing projects north of the Arctic Circle. According to McKinsey, by 2030 "northern" destinations could account for up to 22% of the international luxury travel market—compared to less than 8% in 2019

In 2025, coolcation is not merely an escape from the heat but an act of climate consciousness—and a new status symbol. While mass tourists continue to crowd overheated resorts, the global elite charts new paths northward: to places where silence is more valuable than noise, and coolness has become the ultimate scarcity

Coolcation is not just geography but philosophy. Its essence is slow living: silence, bodily practices, tactile experiences, local cuisine, and the rejection of excess. A new term has emerged—subdued luxury. Clients are choosing seclusion, the ability to be offline, immersion in nature, and a sense of history. In this way, coolcation belongs to the same cultural category as collecting archaic wines or investing in historic estates

Author: Oksana Sergeeva