For more than ten days in July, the Greek island of Rhodes was crossed by a series of large fires that burned large areas of vegetation and caused “the largest evacuation” in the history of the country linked to this type of emergency.
In addition to the local population, around 20,000 tourists were also forced to leave hotels and homes: they were placed mainly in emergency shelters in schools and other public buildings on the island before being sent back to their home countries in advance with a airlift. In total, 10 per cent of hotels in Rhodes were closed during the emergency, which occurred at a time of great tourist crowds on the Greek island.
In an interview on the British TV show Good Morning BritainGreek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis assured that the situation in Rhodes had returned to normal and that the fires only affected about 15 percent of the island, but acknowledged that “they have created inconvenience for visitors”, and said:
To all those whose holidays have been cut short by the fires, the Greek government, together with local institutions, will offer a free week’s holiday in Rhodes next spring or next autumn, so as to ensure that they return to the island to enjoy the its natural beauty.
Mitsotakis did not offer further details on how his administration intends to proceed to implement this promise, which already appears to exclude the summer peak season. Nor is it clear whether the offer will also include flights and transport to reach Rhodes.
Tourism represents an important part of Greece’s gross domestic product: in 2022, 18.5 percent of the total. Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni he tried to reassure further tourists of the fact that visiting the country in summer remains a safe choice: «As a Mediterranean country, we are facing the effects of climate change and we must respond to all the new challenges that await us», but «the islands remain a destination extraordinarily beautiful and safe”.