Recent wildfires spreading across southern Europe sent tourists visiting Greece into a state of emergency last month. Made worse by extreme heat and dry conditions, the fire threw a devastating wrench into the country's plan for continued economic growth. Through the summer seasons, Greece's tourist destinations, like the island of Rhodes where the first started, bring in billions of dollars worth of revenue.
The country's Prime Minister Kryiakos Mitsotakis sat down with 'Good Morning Britain' to update tourists on the area's current condition. He also made an offer to the tourists displaced by the fires to come back and enjoy their interrupted vacations.
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'Rhodes today is more welcoming than ever, the island is back to normal.'
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) August 2, 2023
'The Greek government will offer 1 week of free holiday on Rhodes next spring or fall for all of those whose holiday was cut short due to the wild fires.'
Greece's Prime Minister @kmitsotakis is live. pic.twitter.com/QyAFzL8jJn
"As you know, we've always had wildfires in the Mediterranean for millennia," he explains. "What has changed over the past years as a result of climate change is their intensity."
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"Yes, we had a devastating fire on Rhodes -- but it affected less than 15%... of the island... We have no active wildfires as we speak and the weather for the next 15 days looks relatively benign."
"I also need to point out that no lives were lost," he says. "We managed to evacuate 20,000 people very, very safely (but) we understand that this caused some inconvenience for visitors."
"I'm happy to report that Rhodes today is more welcoming than ever (and) the island is back to normal." Mitsotakis also extended a hand to those whose recent trips ended in evacuation.
"For all of those whose holidays were cut short as a result of the wildfires, the government in cooperation with the local authorities will offer one week of free holidays on Rhodes next spring or next fall," adding that he wanted to "make sure that (those visitors can) come back to the island and... enjoy its natural beauty."
Mitsotakis didn't offer any additional details for how to redeem the offer.
