The impact of hot weather conditions on tourism in Florence, Italy: the summers 2002 - 2003 experience

The Italian summers of 2002 and 2003 showed differing weather conditions: the former was very hot only in June, while the latter was very hot quite consistently. In fact, during the summer of 2003, in the month of August, there was a catastrophic heat-wave, and italy was the second most affected country in Europe after France. For this reason, France was chosen to study the influence of weather conditions on tourists, in particular on emergency room admissions. Admission data were provided into four groups according to nationality and residency. A biometeorological index based on the human energy balance, the Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET), was calculated. Daily minimum, maximum and average PET values were considered with the aim of evaluating the thermo-physiological discomfort of tourists during hot weather conditions in the Mediterranean area. The percentages of variation in event rates, according to PET modifications in both summer 2002 and 2003, were derived from their relative risks by using a regression model. PET values showed very different patterns, and summer 2003 always showed higher daily maximum, minimum and average PET values than 2002, except for the third week of June 2002. The results of this study showed a highly significant linear increase in event rates of tourists coming from high northern latitudes in Europe and America, especially when the daily minimum PET was increased. The study of the impact of these weather conditions could represent the first step towards the development of an operative watch/warning system calibrated for tourists