Guardian Unlimited, September 1, 1999
Spain will be (a) _______________, the eastern Mediterranean will be as hot as the Sahara desert, (b) _____________ will swamp parts of the American coastline and there will be almost no snow in the Alps. This is the (c) _______________ painted in a new report on the effects of global warming on 10 of the world's most popular tourist destinations in the next century. The study, commissioned by the(d) _______________ (WWF), found that profitable tourist destinations could be turned into "holiday horror stories". By 2020 visitors to the Costa del Sol could risk(e) _______________ as global warming brings more frequent heat waves, making Spain a (f) _______________ for malaria-bearing mosquitoes, while increases in summer temperatures to more than 40C may make parts of Turkey and Greece (g) _______________ in July and August. The study by the climatic research unit of the University of East Anglia in Britain suggests that countries that rely on holidaymakers for (h) _______________ will need to take account of the changing climate when planning resorts or (i) _______________. David Viner, the senior research scientist who (j) _______________, said: "Areas such as the Mediterranean could become unbearable during the traditional summer holiday season. As temperatures begin to soar, many tourists will stay away." The report says a (k) _______________ over Australia will increase (l) _______________, increasing the risk of sunburn and skin cancer. Winter tourism in the Alps and other European (m) _______________ will be affected because they will have less snowfall and shorter skiing seasons. Lower-lying resorts in Austria, and areas where commercial skiing operations are already marginal, such as Scotland, will (n) _______________. The southeast coastline of the United States, including parts of Florida, may be threatened by rising sea levels. Safari holidays in east and southern Africa may be affected as droughts and changes in temperature alter the(o) _______________. Some islands in the Maldives could disappear as they are (p) _______________. The tourism industry could be faced with (q) _______________ as global warming begins to influence decisions about when and where people are going to go on holiday. From 594m international travellers in 1996, numbers are expected to rise to 702m in 2000, 1.1bn in 2010 and 1.6bn in 2020.
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