Greece offers payment to tourists evacuated from wildfires

Tourists are evacuated from hotels during a wildfire on the Greek island of Rhodes on July 22, 2023. Three coastguard boats were leading more than 20 vessels in an emergency evacuation effort to rescue people from the Greek island, where fire has been raging out of control for five days. (Photo by STRINGER / Eurokinissi / AFP)

Athens, Greece — The Greek government on Thursday offered compensation to tourists evacuated from wildfires on the holiday island of Rhodes last year so they can stay there again.

Tourists of any nationality “who stayed in hotels that were evacuated during the forest fires in Rhodes in July 2023, have the possibility to obtain financial assistance,” the tourism ministry said in a statement.

Visitors must register on a Rodos Week website set up by the ministry to obtain money towards six nights in an equivalent hotel to where they were in 2023.

Beneficiaries would get up to 300 euros ($321) to stay in a double room in a three-star hotel, 50 euros ($54) per night.

READ: Thousands moved to safety as wildfires rage on Greek island of Rhodes

For a six-night stay in a family room in a five-star hotel, the compensation increases to 500 euros ($535).

Tourists who stayed in rented apartments and houses are not entitled to the offer. And the trips are to be made before May 31 or between October 1 and November 15.

In July, at the height of a heatwave, about 20,000 people were evacuated from the island because of wildfires that authorities said ravaged almost 17,770 hectares (44,000 acres) in the south of Rhodes.

The German TUI Group and the British airline Jet2 flew empty planes to the island to evacuate affected tourists.

On Sunday, Greece raised its wildfire alert level to “high risk” after dozens of new blazes broke out.

Like many other parts of the Mediterranean, Greece experienced a prolonged heat wave last summer in which 20 people died and close to 175,000 hectares (430,000 acres) of land were scorched.