Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has announced that the tourists who were forced to leave the island of Rhodes after recent wildfires will be given a free one-week holiday there.
In a TV interview on August 2, Mitsotakis said the tourists could take up the offer in the spring or autumn of 2024. Not a single human life was lost in Rhodes, and no injuries were reported in the wildfires, he added.
Local people and travellers were forced to flee their homes and hotels during the wildfires that destroyed the island in July. About 20,000 tourists were rescued from the wildfires, making the operation the largest evacuation undertaken by the country.
Greece depends heavily on tourism to generate revenue. Rhodes is the ninth-largest island in the eastern Mediterranean. It is also a famous holiday destination and so crucial for the country’s economy that relies heavily on tourism to generate revenue.
The Greek Prime Minister mentioned that the region was always prone to wildfires, but in recent years, climate change had increased the intensity of the natural calamity. July was recorded as the hottest month in human history, with the UN stating that we had entered the era of ‘global boiling.’
