Greek PM offers free holiday to tourists who escaped Rhodes wildfires

Greek Prime MinisterKyriakos Mitsotakis has announced that tourists who were forced to escape the island of Rhodes after recent wildfires will be given a free one-week holiday there.

Speaking on a British morning show,Mitsotakis said the tourists could take up the offer in the spring or autumn of 2024. He, however, did not specify details of how the free week could be claimed, or how the logistics would work.

“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, the next fall, so that we make sure they come back to the island and enjoy its natural beauty," saidMitsotakis on the show.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

"Not a single human life was lost in Rhodes, and no injuries were reported... We understand that guests have been inconvenienced, but I am happy to tell you that Rhodes is more welcoming than ever. The island is back to normal."

Local people as well as tourists were forced to flee their homes and hotels during the wildfires that ravaged the island last month. As many as 20,000 tourists were rescued from danger, in what was the largest evacuation undertaken by the country.

Greece, whose economy has been heavily battered over the past decade, relies heavily on tourism to generate revenue. Rhodes,the ninth-largest island in the eastern Mediterranean, is a popular holiday spot andMitsotakis wants tourism to quickly return to previous levels.

Watch |Gravitas: Record ocean temperatures observed in Florida | Mediterranean burns like blowtorch

×

Climate change increasing the intensity of wildfires

Up until last week,Mitsotakis was seen warning the Greek parliament that the Mediterranean was in peril due to climate change.

"For the next few weeks, we must be on constant alert. We are at war. We will rebuild what we lost, we will compensate those who were hurt,"Mitsotakis told parliament, as quoted by Reuters.

"The climate crisis is already here, it will manifest itself everywhere in the Mediterranean with greater disasters," he said.

Mitsotakis mentioned that the region was always prone to wildfires, but in recent years, climate change had greatly increased the intensity of the natural calamity.

According to experts, the Mediterranean burning like a blowtorch may have never happened without human-induced climate change. July was recorded as the hottest month in human history, with the UN stating that the "era of global warming" was over as we had entered the era of "global boiling".

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE: