Greek Prime Minister announced on Wednesday that tourists who were forced to evacuate from Rhodes island due to wildfires in Greece are invited back for a complimentary one-week stay next year. The wildfires, which lasted for two weeks and were aggravated by high temperatures, dry weather, and strong winds, led to disorder during Greece’s peak tourist season.
Thousands of locals and visitors had to evacuate from their hotels and villages on Rhodes, while many others were evacuated from Corfu and various places. “The individuals whose vacations were disrupted by the wildfires will be given a free week-long holiday on Rhodes next spring or fall,” said Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Britain’s ITV channel.
The fires, which claimed the lives of at least five people in Greece and burned roughly 123,500 acres, prompted travel companies TUI and Jet2 to halt flights to Rhodes and send empty planes to evacuate the tourists, according to the Athens Observatory.
Greek travel agents have initiated a campaign entitled “Rhodes is safe” in an attempt to attract tourists again. The prime minister confirmed to ITV that “Rhodes is now more hospitable than ever, the island has returned to normal.” Last week, TUI restarted its flights to the island.
