How this city turned its scorching heat into a tourism draw

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🗞️ Driving the news: Scottsdale, Arizona, has turned its extreme summer heat into a tourism attraction by offering unique amenities like cabana misters and nighttime mini golf, despite concerns about the risks of triple-digit temperatures

🔭 The context: Scottsdale's tourism campaign, “It’s that hot!” markets the heat as a feature rather than a drawback, aiming to attract visitors with lower hotel rates and specially adapted activities

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: This trend highlights how climate change is forcing destinations to adapt their strategies to cope with extreme weather, which could lead to increased energy consumption and further environmental strain

⏭️ What's next: While the campaign has seen some success, experts warn that the romanticization of extreme heat can be dangerous, and there are calls for more emphasis on safety and the risks associated with high temperatures

💬 One quote: “There’s a cultural dismissiveness toward heat,” said Jennifer Marlon, a research scientist at Yale. “What if there’s a power outage? What if there’s a particularly severe heat wave?”

📈 One stat: Maricopa County recorded 645 heat-related deaths last year, with 25 occurring in Scottsdale

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