Rhodes: The battle for mood reversal begins

Tourism of the emerald island are fighting against time in order to reverse the mood and not lose the tourist season due to the big fire that has affected 10% of the area of Rhodes.

Based on what is reported by the South Aegean Region, the northern part of the island is operating normally. Also since Monday 24 July, 90% of tourists have left the temporary accommodation centers and either moved to other hotels or headed to the airport for their return flights, while others returned to the hotels they had previously evacuated. The remaining 10% or so is already transferred to airports and hotel rooms. It is estimated that until this evening no one will stay in the above premises.

Rhodes: Strong blow to tourism – Cancellations of arrivals throughout the island

Rhodes International Airport is fully operational with inbound flights and flights for travelers returning to their countries from the evacuated hotels and flights from airlines and Tour Operators bringing tourists for their holidays to the island. It should also be noted that 72 of the 75 hotels that were abandoned due to the fire resumed their operation.

To better manage the affected tourists the South Aegean Region created a platform where accommodation providers offered freely available rooms to support the affected. Also in her immediate plans is the promotion of a campaign for the island.

The first goal is to change the climate and image of Rhodes, based on what he mentioned, speaking in the morning zone of OPEN channel, and the vice-president of SETE, president of SETKE, and president of the room rental companies on the “Island of the Knights” Panagiotis Toukouzis.

After praising the Minister of Tourism for the effort she is making, Mr. Toukouzis emphasized that what is most important is the organization of a campaign to emphasize that Rhodes has no problem welcoming visitors despite the fires. He also estimated that while a small part of the island’s hotel infrastructure has been affected, cancellations may reach up to 50% by the end of the month.

The companies

In the meantime, today the head of the TUI group Sebastian Ebel is arriving on the island in Greece for contacts aimed at supporting the market there, which is a large and important part of TUI. In fact, it is reported that the communication of the head of the largest tour operator for Greece with Olga Kefalogianni is continuous and constructive.

It is noted that TUI, Europe’s largest tour operator, has decided to cancel all the trips it had planned to Rhodes until today, July 25, “in order to guarantee everyone’s safety and to return when the situation on the island is calmer and more controlled.”

As it specifically stated on its website: “We have canceled all outbound flights to Rhodes until Tuesday, July 25. Customers currently in Rhodes will return on their scheduled flight back to their home countries.” In fact, with its newest announcement, it emphasized that its customers bound for Rhodes from Wednesday, July 26, can rebook or modify their reservation for free.

“We urge visitors who are due to fly to Rhodes to travel to the island, as this move will help to further normalize the situation and they will have a smooth holiday.” According to TUI, the fires in the south-eastern parts of Rhodes have forced more than 7,800 of its visitors to move in the last 24 hours. Similarly, the British group Jet2 announced that due to the fires affecting Rhodes it will stop all flights from the UK to the island until July 30, proceeding with a refund or rebooking, however it will continue to operate flights from the UK to Rhodes for the repatriation of British tourists.

The airline announced four extra flights yesterday to bring more customers back to the UK, following the devastating fires in Rhodes.

An estimated 7,000-10,000 Britons are currently in Rhodes, according to a UK government official, and like Jet2, TUI and easyJet both provide additional services. TUI also announced that it operated three flights on Sunday to repatriate tourists from Rhodes.

EasyJet said it would have scheduled two flights repatriating tourists, in addition to its usual departure schedule, and would monitor the situation if it needed to add more. Its flights to Rhodes are still taking place, however its travel arm, easyJet holidays, the company that operates as a tour operator, has decided to cancel all holiday packages to the island of the Dodecanese until tomorrow Wednesday.

In addition, the Minister of Tourism Olga Kefalogianni, in interviews with the British media Sky News, BBC News and BBC Radio, pointed out that “it was the biggest evacuation that Greece has ever seen, as the number of people who were transported reached 19,000, of which 16,000 were transported by land and 3,000 by sea”.

Mrs. Kefalogianni emphasized that the solidarity of both the people of Rhodes and the volunteers who ran from every part of the country to help was touching and this was reflected in the fact that the tourists from the first moment had the necessary facilities and hospitality in public structures, so that they felt safe despite the unexpected crisis.

“There is no problem at Rhodes airport and it is very important to emphasize that only a small part of the island has been affected,” the minister told BBC Radio.

In fact, he characterized as “wrong the estimates that 50% of the island has been affected by the fire”. According to Ms. Kefalogianni, “Greece wants to send a clear security message abroad, as the safety of visitors is a priority, as is the fact that Greece is able to face major crises.”