It is still safe for tourists to travel to Rhodes in line with UK government advice, a cabinet minister has said, who added he was planning to holiday on another Greek island next week.
Michael Gove was speaking amid continued scrutiny of the Foreign Office’s categorisation of the wildfire-stricken island and pressure for it to change to enable tourists to get a refund for their trips through their travel insurance.
Flights have been taking back some of the 10,000 British tourists stranded on the island, where wildfires have been burning out of control in its mountainous interior and threatening some resorts.
“We do need to support the Greek government in dealing with the situation in Rhodes. My heart goes out to those who are affected. But I think the advice is clear. If you follow the Foreign Office advice, it is safe,” said Gove.
The minister, who said he believed travel companies had behaved responsibly, told Times Radio: “I think it is the case that … the fires have been restricted to one part of the island.”
Gove said he was planning to holiday on the Greek island of Evia next week, telling Sky News: “In fact, I’m due to go on holiday, God willing, to Greece in just over a week’s time, not to Rhodes but to another island and I’m looking forward to going.”
The island has been among parts of Greece where wildfires have broken out.
Of the dozens of wildfires that broke out across the country at the weekend, one of the most serious was on Evia, where people living in four southern villages were told by authorities to evacuate to a town.
Pressure on the government has continued from Labour MPs and the Liberal Democrats, who said on Monday that Rhodes should be added to the “red list” of places to which the Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel.
“Many families are unable to make a claim against their insurance – leaving them paying the penalty for deciding not to fly out to the island,” said Layla Moran, the Liberal Democrats’ foreign affairs spokesperson.
Travel firms that continue to fly tourists to Rhodes were accused of “profiteering” by a senior Conservative on Monday, who backed calls for a change in the official travel advice.
“I know there is a statutory duty for the government to get British citizens home if they are in trouble, but travel companies have to live up to their obligations rather than making profits from flights carrying tourists out, and then stepping away and letting the government sort out how to get them home in some cases,” said Alicia Kearns, the chair of parliament’s foreign affairs select committee.
