Greece’s Prime Minister has offered a free week’s holiday to anyone whose Rhodes holiday was curtailed by wildfires in July 2023.
So far 2023’s peak season has seen local residents told to abandon their homes and thousands of holidaymakers on Rhodes forced to flee wildfires and evacuate hotels.
Although summer fires are not uncommon on the South Aegean destination, official figures indicate 20,000 people were caught up in the chaos this year – the most comprehensive evacuation the island has ever experienced.
About 50 fires were breaking out across Greece per day at one point, their intensity made more severe by climate change, according to the country’s leader.
1. Next spring, next fall
Appearing on UK broadcaster ITV’s breakfast news programme, Good Morning Britain, PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis said: “For all those whose holiday was cut short as a result of wildfires, the Greek government in cooperation with local authorities will offer one week of free holidays on Rhodes, next spring, the next fall, so that we make sure they come back to the island and enjoy its natural beauty.”
Commentators will note the offer has not yet been backed up by any details and does not appear to include holidays during the high season. It is also unclear whether flights or transport would be covered.
2. Traumatic
Over two and a half million people visiting Rhodes alone last year, according to Euronews. But just how many tourists affected by the fires this year would ever wish to return remains in doubt.
For many the experience was highly traumatic. One family told the UK’s Guardian newspaper that it felt like “a disaster film” and their six-year-old asked them if they were “going to die”.
Nonetheless for a country whose gross national product is 25% tourism-based, Mitsotakis’s announcement is generating publicity.
3. “Rhodes is back!”
Operations have begun to return belongings to owners who fled and tourism agencies and officials have emphasised the state of emergency is now over.
“Rhodes is back! We are pleased to announce that the operational state of emergency has expired on the island of Rhodes,” said the Greek Tourism Ministry last week, adding the islanders are “looking forward to continuing to offer their care and unique hospitality to foreign visitors”.
Describing the areas requiring repairs and restoration as “limited”, the regional governor said tourism had already returned to “business as usual. Meanwhile the Hotel Association of Rhodes has said it is expecting 100% of accommodation will soon be back and functioning and says the island is “fully operational, welcoming thousands of tourists daily.”
