2023-09-10 10:25:03
Scorched earth: In Kiotari the fire has reached the hotels on the beach. Image: dpa
A few weeks after the fires and despite the storms in Greece, tourism on Rhodes is back in full swing. But the island needs new ideas to be sustainable in times of climate change.
As dramatic as the images were of the devastating forest fires that raged in the south of Rhodes from July 18th, and as much as the evacuation of 19,000 holidaymakers and many thousands of locals moved the world, it has long been business as usual on the island The heavy rains that have caused landslides and floods in recent days, especially in central Greece, do not change anything. As in the best of times, charter planes from all over Europe land at Rhodes airport, the third largest in Greece, every ten minutes, and the island’s hotels are 95 percent full.
The fires left charred tree trunks on 15 percent of the island, tourism stopped for a short time and providers temporarily reduced prices. Just a few weeks later, the mood is euphoric again. To make up for the losses, the season will be extended until November 20th, and 2023 could even be another record year for Rhodes and its 120,000 residents. The top result of 2.5 million vacationers last year could be exceeded, and that was already well above the record of 2.1 million from the year before Corona.
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