Cinque Terre, Italy, in thermal layers. Ireland in ceaseless rain. For decades, I restricted most of my European travels to fall because, whatever the weather, I enjoyed the feeling of having the hotel, trail, restaurant or cathedral — well, maybe not the Duomo in Florence — to myself. But I won’t be alone this year.

From resort towns in Europe to popular summer destinations in the United States, places once emptied by October are now brimming with guests. Booking.com reported notable growth in searches for traditional beach trips such as the Hamptons — up 78 per cent year-over-year in September and 45 per cent in October.

Searches for rooms in Dublin are up 35 per cent in the fall over summer, according to Expedia. Virtuoso, a consortium of high-end travel agencies, says that fall bookings have climbed 30 per cent this year.

‘The new summer’

Fall’s surge owes some credit to the broader boom in travel. Last year, 1.4 billion people travelled internationally, up from 673 million in 2000, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council.

With more of them seeking better access and fewer crowds, “the off-season is now its own season”, said Jared Sternberg, the president and founder of Gondwana Ecotours, which offers nature-focused tours.

“Fall has become the new summer in Newport,” said Anney Jasinski, the director of marketing and communications at the Chanler at Cliff Walk hotel in Newport, R.I., where room rates doubled from 2023 to 2024 for September and October.

In some destinations, climate change has encouraged fall travel by extending milder weather. In the French Riviera, September is now as busy as August. This year, the luxury cruise line Silversea announced year-round sailings in the Mediterranean. And in the Italian Alps, with diminished early snows, the Grand Hotel Courmayeur Mont Blanc will remain open this fall for the first time, rather than closing early and reopening in December for the ski season.

The fallout from overtourism, including heavy summer crowds in places like Venice and Dubrovnik, and anti-tourism protests in Spain, has pushed some travellers to delay departures to later in the year.

New York Times News Service