A “do-over” free Rhodes vacations is being offered by the Greek prime minister to tourists whose excursions to the popular island of Rhodes were cut short or cancelled this summer owing to wildfires throughout the nation, according to CNN. On August 2, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis discussed the situation in Rhodes during an appearance on the British talk show Good Morning Britain. The majority of those who were impacted were from the UK.
“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 or next fall, so that we make sure they come back to the island.”
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis
No other information was provided, and Mitsotakis made no mention of how the scheme would operate.
When catastrophic wildfires and heat waves hit Rhodes in July, more than 19,000 tourists were forced to leave the island. Other parts of Greece were also impacted by the weather-related problems. Travelers were also evacuated from the island of Corfu, and the Acropolis, one of the nation’s most famous sights, was closed to visitors as Athens’ temperature climbed to 44 degrees Celsius (111.2 degrees Fahrenheit).
In a press release this week, the Greek Tourism Ministry, the nation’s main tourism organization, expressed a similar degree of optimism. The press announcement proclaimed, “Rhodes is back!” “We are happy to report that Rhodes Island’s operational state of emergency has ended. All of Rhodes Island, including the few damaged areas, is now experiencing a return to normalcy. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council, Greece primarily depends on the tourism sector, with travel accounting for 18.5% of the country’s GDP.