Coolcation, anyone? Irish holidays might be getting more attention from North Americans due to people not being able to cope with summer anymore. A travel company called EF World Journeys are claiming that holidays to cold destinations are on the rise. Apparently, people are now too soft for tropical holidays where we burn all our own skin off on the beach.
The travel company say they have curated a collection of summer tours to help international travellers beat the heat. Their customers are “opting for traditionally cooler climates.” And Ireland is firmly on this list.
And it’s not just soft Generation Z holidaymakers. The guided holidays are for anyone from Gen Z to Baby Boomers.
The travel company is “responding to traveler demand for more international tour options that avoid the increasingly oppressive heat of summer travel.” And that people want a “summer coolcation to remember.”
Coolcation in Ireland
According to their surveys of their customers, more than 50% of their US customers want a cooler summer holiday.
Lael Kassis, Vice President, Market Development, said, “An increasing group of American and Canadian travelers of all ages have inquired about summer tours that lessen the chance of high temperatures or heat exhaustion…
“To answer this demand, we’ve curated tours in cooler destinations from Iceland to Ireland, from Scotland to Norway, and a plethora of tour experiences that promise great Summer adventures with historically cooler temperatures.”
Cool Holiday Stats
According to Qualtrics Research in May 2025,aversion to heat is changing the international travel behaviors of more than half of North American travelers 18 years and older:
- 18-35-years: 57% of Gen Z and Millennial North American travelers said extreme summer heat was influencing their international travel plans, with 74% saying they would be interested in traveling to a destination with cooler temperatures from June-August. The top cooler destinations favored include: 1) The Alps (Switzerland, Austria, France, Italy), 2) Australia or New Zealand (where it is winter from June-August in the Southern Hemisphere), and 3) Ireland.
- Travelers 35 years and older: 53% of older Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomer North American travellers said they favoured The Rocky Mountains (United States and Canada), the Nordics (Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland), and Australia or New Zealand.
They also wanted limits on outdoor levels of activity, had a strong personal dislike for “sweating”.
Like the Irish it seems many people don’t want to pay to get their head melted.
