Why did tourists keep coming as Rhodes and Maui burned? It’s about far more than denial

‘As the climate crisis intensifies, the moral aspect of travel becomes even harder to defend.’ People play with a ball in front of a burnt forest in Rhodes, Greece. Photograph: Petros Giannakouris/AP

While Rhodes burned, tourists kept flocking in. Homes were being turned to ash, thousands of holidaymakers were being evacuated, and still the visitors came. In the wake of the Hawaii wildfires, which have killed at least 115 people, the island of Maui experienced the same phenomenon.

These images played on my mind as I set off on my own holiday abroad a week later. They niggled at me as I fumbled my way through Turkish thank-yous and waited dutifully in line to see Istanbul’s Blue Mosque. Why did they do it? There were partial explanations available: a lack of funds to book alternative trips, the lingering question of whether refunds would be issued, the quest to escape the grim British summer. But none of these felt enough to explain why people would walk towards the flames – why they’d put their lives and welfare at risk for a holiday.