Their vacation, in the summer of 2023, had literally gone up in smoke. Nearly a year later, the Greek government offered them a consolation prize. Tourists who had their vacation cut short by fires on the Greek island of Rhodes in July 2023 will indeed receive compensation from the Greek government, reports
The Guardian
this Thursday April 11. A first, according to Greek Tourism Minister Myron Flouris.
First announced in August 2023 by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on English television's
Good Morning Britain
, the compensation program is now officially launched. Indeed, a large majority of repatriated tourists were of British nationality, underlines
The Guardian
.
Online vouchers for evacuated tourists
The Greek government's compensation program provides online vouchers for tourists who stayed in hotels evacuated due to the fires, worth up to 500 euros to cover the accommodation costs of a week's stay.
“Anyone who has stayed in the areas affected by the fires can benefit from it. The reactions have been very positive and they will be even more so by the fall
,” Yannis Papavasiliou, the head of the island's hotel union, told the
Guardian
. In fact, 5,000 people of the 25,000 eligible people have already come forward. The compensation program will take place in two phases: the first will take place between now and May 31, the second from October 1 to November 15. These vouchers will only be valid for hotels and not for Airbnb type accommodation.
To access the vouchers online, eligible people will need to contact the Greek government directly, even if they have used tour operators such as Jet2, TUI or Thomas Cook.
Nearly 30,000 tourists evacuated in July 2023
In July 2023, a major fire ravaged the island of Rhodes, which was experiencing an extreme heatwave during this period. Strong winds greatly contributed to the spread of the fires, which burned more than 50,000 hectares, or 13% of the island's surface area.
The Greek government then launched a mass repatriation operation, “the largest evacuation ever carried out in Greece”, according to the spokesperson for the Greek police. Nearly 30,000 people were brought to safety in gymnasiums or schools. Most were then repatriated by boat or plane.