20,000 were evacuated from the tourist island of Rhodes when forest fires affected accommodation, including two seaside resorts. Photo / Argyris Mantikos, Eurokinissi via AP
20,000 were evacuated from the tourist island of Rhodes when forest fires affected accommodation, including two seaside resorts. Photo / Argyris Mantikos, Eurokinissi via AP
The Greek government is offering a week-long holiday to tourists affected by last month’s bushfires, providing they return to the islands they were evacuated from.
Rhodes, the country’s ninth-largest island, was affected by severe wildfires causing tens of thousands of holidaymakers to be forcibly evacuated from their resorts.
More than 20,000 people were evacuated from the islands of Rhodes, with 12 villages and two seaside resorts being ordered to empty on 23 July.
Many more chose to cancel their travel to the leisure island.
On Wednesday, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told UK’s ITV that the fires that affected 15 per cent of Rhodes were now under control, though authorities “understand that it caused some inconvenience for visitors.”
“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,” Mitsotakis said.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis offered a week-long free holiday to tourists affected by the Rhodes fires, next year. Photo / Costas Baltas, Pool via AP
Many visitors affected by the fires which burned through July, complained of mixed advice and the difficulty returning home. With many cutting their holidays short there was a strain on air travel from the island.
In one instance the BBC reported an EasyJet plane from London telling his passengers that travel was a “bad idea”, advising them to get off the plane unless their travel was absolutely necessary.
Rhodes like much of Greece relies heavily on tourism. Throughout last month they continued to advise tourists it was safe to visit, saying that the fires only affected a small part of the island.
New Zealand’s MFAT travel advisory continued to say that visitors should exercise normal precautions. Although, on 23 July, the ministry’s SafeTravel website issued a warning that the country was “experiencing very high temperatures, with severe fire warnings in place across the country,” and that tourists in Greece should be prepared to follow “evacuation orders”.
While it remains to be seen how tourists can claim these holidays, and how much uptake there will be for fire-affected tourists to return, the proposal has not been entirely popular in Greece.
The Greek opposition party Syriza criticised the PM’s announcement to pay for tourists to come back to Rhodes, saying that it would take more than free travel to repair the country’s susceptibility to fires and increasingly hot summers.
“A serious plan is needed for prevention and treatment. A plan that the government demonstrably does not have,” the BBC quoted Syriza spokesperson.
