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Estudy climate and tourist activity:: comparitive data on the mediterranean climate

• Beginning
• Introduction
• Differential Characteristics
• The Climate in Europe
• Major Contrasts with the Iberian Peninsula
• The Optimum Climate for Tourist Activity

The mediterranean climate in Europe.

The north-western flank of this sea (Spain, France and Italy) is the number one area for vacationing in the world, with 30% of international tourists and 85% of all tourists to the Mediterranean.

According to experts, this location for tourist activity is conditioned by the existence of an average 10ºC isotherm in January, the border for climatic mildness. In this way, a kind of large-scale fracture can be seen in the Mediterranean, which gradually affects the tourist offer to the south of this line that is much less seasonal.

Only the Iberian Peninsula (the coastal strip from Lisbon to Castellon) offers a continental location for this southern space, enclosed by the iso-line. The rest is mainly situated on islands or on archipelagos with reduced accessibility.

On the other hand, it should be reiterated that many of these insular areas as well as other traditional European coastal tourist destinations (Costa Azul, Adriatic Sea and the Dalmatian Coast) are more rainy that the peninsular coast .

G.2 ISOTHERM OF THE MINIMUM AVERAGE TEMPERATURE (January)

	Average Temperature for January	Total annual rainfall
1.- SPLIT (CROACIA)	4,2°C	801mm
2.- MARSELLA (FRANCIA)	6,3°C	600mm
3.- ESTAMBUL (TURQUÍA)	7,8°C	650mm
4.- ATENAS (GRECIA)	8,6°C	390mm
5.- GENOVA (ITALIA)	7,2°C	1.183mm
6.- VENECIA (ITALIA)	6,4°C	1.020mm
7.- CORFÚ (GRECIA)	10,2°C	1.013mm
8.- PALERMO (ITALIA)	10,3°C	718mm
9.- BENIDORM (ESPAÑA)	12,2°C	293mm
10.- NAPOLES (ITALIA)	9°C	863mm

Source: Lozato-Giotart "El Mediterráneo y el Turismo".