Cooler water temperature in Traunfall, a scenic waterfall in Austria, is attracting streams of summer vacationers as rising global temperature has driven holiday-makers from traditional Mediterranean resorts.
Traunfall is a 200-meter-long and 12-meter-tall waterfall of the river Traun in Upper Austria. With a water temperature of around 15 degrees Celsius, it is worth swapping a vacation in the Mediterranean for a cool vacation.
"Yeah it's pretty cold but it's a cool feeling to get the kick and the adrenaline," said David Steinmaier, one of the tourists.
"It's maybe not that hot here than in other places like Spain when you have 45 degrees outside. Here it's more comfortable," said Lara Ulbrich, another tourist.
According to projections by the European Union, an average temperature rise of 4 degrees Celsius will reduce the number of summer tourists in the Mediterranean by up to 10 percent.
Austria is already seeing an increase in summer tourists over recent years. In 2023, Austria's tourism sector registered 3.6 percent more overnight stays during summer than the same period in 2022, according to Statistics Austria.
"We do not only focus on the topic of cooler temperatures in Austria during summer and refreshing lakes or our cool mountains, but it's a part of our communications campaign. Climate change throughout the next years will indeed have a huge impact on tourism," said Tanja Gruber, official at the Austrian National Tourist Office.
Austria's Traunfall makes a splash as coolest hotspot for holidaymakers
Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrived in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday for an official visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the invitation of the UAE Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Upon his arrival, Li said that bilateral ties between China and the UAE have maintained strong growth momentum since the two countries established diplomatic relations 40 years ago, and their friendship has grown stronger and continues to flourish.
Li noted that the meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in May has drawn a new blueprint for China-UAE ties, charting the course and injecting strong momentum for advancing bilateral relations and cooperation.
Li pointed out that under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China-UAE relations have developed comprehensively, rapidly and in depth with practical cooperation in various fields going deeper and cultural exchanges becoming increasingly active.
The two countries have maintained close communication and coordination on multilateral platforms, continuously contributing to peace, stability, prosperity and development of the region and the world at large, he said.
Guided by the important consensus reached by the two heads of state and taking the opportunity of the 40th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between the two countries, Li said he looked forward to having in-depth exchanges with UAE leaders and people committed to China-UAE friendship in various sectors to deepen and solidify the China-UAE comprehensive strategic partnership and achieve more fruitful results in exchanges and cooperation in various fields.
The UAE is the second and final leg of Li's four-day tour to the Middle East, which began in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. He chaired the Fourth Meeting of the High-Level Chinese-Saudi Joint Committee in the Saudi capital of Riyadh and paid an official visit to the country.
Chinese premier lands in Abu Dhabi for visit
