Greece has launched "free" holidays for tourists who fled the wildfires in Rhodes in 2023, with up to 25,000 people - mostly from the UK - eligible. The vouchers will cover hotel stays in a bid to draw tourists back.
Greek tourism ministry’s general secretary, Myron Flouris, told The Guardian: “The scheme is up and running as the prime minister promised. It’s been a very complicated process not least, I think, because we’re the first country in the world to do this.”
People who stayed in hotels that were evacuated because of the July fires will be able to redeem e-vouchers worth up to €500 to cover the accommodation charges of a week-long stay. “Anyone who was staying in areas that were affected by the fires is eligible,” said Yannis Papavasiliou, who heads the island’s union of hoteliers.
“The response has been very good and we are told will be even stronger come the autumn.” He added: “It will apply only to hotels, not Airbnb-style private accommodation. At the end of the day Greece is making good on its promise to recompense all those who lost their holidays because of climate change.”
A Government spokesman said: “All of the Mediterranean is a hotspot for climate change. That, statistically, means we will have more fires and probably more floods. It wasn’t easy … to evacuate 25,000 visitors but we did it safely and we are very proud of the fact that we managed to confront this crisis essentially without mourning [the loss] of human life."
