Greece will offer a free one-week stay in Rhodes in the spring or autumn of 2024 to all tourists whose holidays were cut short by day-long wildfires on the island in July, damaging homes and hotels and forcing thousands to to evacuate.
"For all those whose vacations were interrupted as a result of the fires, the Greek government, in cooperation with the local authorities, will offer a free week's vacation in Rhodes next spring or autumn," declared Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis, adding that the island was now "back to normal".
About 20,000 people, including thousands of British tourists, were evacuated from Rhodes in recent weeks after fires burned about ten percent of the island's surface.
A favorite holiday destination, Greece is heavily dependent on tourism, which accounts for a quarter of its GDP.
Tourism is the main driver of Greece's economy, which emerged from a debt crisis in 2018, and Rhodes, the ninth-largest island in the eastern Mediterranean, is a popular holiday destination.