Tourists forced to cut short their stay in Rhodes because of the violent fires which affected the Greek island in July will be able to return there next year for “a week of free vacation”, the Greek Prime Minister announced on Wednesday. In the midst of a heat wave, a violent fire, started on July 18 and fanned by strong winds, ravaged in ten days nearly 17,770 hectares in the south of this very touristic island in the Aegean Sea (South-East), according to the observatory European Copernicus (EMS).
“Rhodes is safe”
About 20,000 people, mostly tourists, had to be evacuated, especially during the night of July 23, according to Athens. The firefighters had initially mentioned 30,000 evacuations. The German group TUI, world number one in tourism, and the British company Jet2 had suspended their flights to Rhodes before transporting their aircraft empty to evacuate the affected tourists.
Fearing repercussions on this driving sector of the country’s economy, Greek tour operators recently launched a campaign on social networks entitled “Rhodes is safe” (“Rhodes is a safe destination”, editor’s note) to encourage tourists to visit the ‘island. “Rhodes is now more welcoming than ever, it has returned to normal,” assured Kyriakos Mitsotakis on ITV.
Last minute reservations
Asked by AFP about the number of possible trip cancellations, TUI said it did not have a precise figure. “Most of the customers who were unable to spend their holidays in the south of Rhodes have booked other destinations in the Mediterranean”, underlined a spokesperson for the operator in Hanover (North-West Germany) . Since Tuesday, TUI has again been offering organized trips to the island. “The desire of customers to go there is great, we are now planning last minute reservations,” he also said.
Greece went through the longest heat wave for a month of July at the end of July with temperatures of more than 40°C in many places, according to the National Observatory of Athens. Multiple fires then broke out, especially on another very touristic island, Corfu (North-West) where some 2,500 people had to be evacuated.