Rhodes: Mass departure of tourists – Complaints of tripling prices in city hotels

The tourism of Rhodes suffered a serious blow due to the fire that continues to burn for the seventh day in the central and south-eastern end of the island. The evacuation of tourist areas with five-star hotels and other smaller units and the removal of many thousands of tourists who for the second day remain trapped on the island and live in poor conditions and sleep on the floors of gyms and indoor courts, are a harbinger of mass departures and cancellations of arrivals by many foreign tourism companies.

Speculation in other parts of the island

However, what causes concern is the fact that some hoteliers in the “smoke-free” areas of Rhodes are rushing to make… super profit from the tragedy.
According to a BBC report, British tourists who now arrive on the island for their holidays having already booked accommodation in units affected by the fire, are forced to seek accommodation elsewhere and are surprised to find that the prices have now tripled!

In particular, the BBC spoke to Oliver, who arrived in Rhodes on Saturday, and as he stated it was very difficult to find accommodation after being forced to leave his hotel. The British tourist pointed out that prices for accommodation in Rhodes Town had “tripled” overnight and there were only five places available to book on Sunday morning.

Oliver and his wife left their hotel in Lindos shortly after midnight and managed to secure a taxi to Rhodes Town.

“We called 60 hotels in the taxi and they were all full,” he said.

They could see the flames in the sky as they left their hotel, he says, adding: “It was beautiful, but scary… I’ve never seen anything like it.”

The pair ended up sleeping on… tablecloths on the floor of a boardroom on Saturday night, the BBC report concludes.

75 hotels were evacuated

According to estimates by the Region, about 75 hotels were evacuated in the southern and eastern parts of the island, with more than 16,000 tourists being transferred to structures or other accommodation to be accommodated. Of the 75 hotels, three remained completely closed, as the rest, as reported, had security personnel facilitating those travelers who wished to take their luggage and personal belongings and either leave the island or be transferred to another accommodation.

Some of the hotels have suffered damage, mainly in the surrounding area, while the exact assessment of the damage will be completed in the coming days.

What the ministry says

However, information from the Ministry of Tourism indicates that the entire crisis concerns 10% of the island’s hotel capacity without affecting the rest.

The Minister of Tourism Olga Kefalogianni is in Rhodes where she is expected to talk to foreign journalists and give interviews to foreign mass media.

Despite the fire raging on the island, until yesterday planes were landing in Rhodes carrying tourists who had planned their holidays.

It is indicative that for yesterday Sunday, according to information from the South Aegean Region, 53 aircraft were scheduled to land in Rhodes, of which only 8 aircraft were empty and approached the island in order to pick up tourists who wanted to leave.

Also, the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Christos Tsekouras, met in Rhodes with Fraport’s General Manager of Operations, Mr. Spyrato, the President of the Union of Air Traffic Controllers of Greece, Mr. Psaro, and representatives of foreign airlines, with the aim of facilitating passengers and the smooth operation of “Diagoras” Airport, given the conditions created by the fire that broke out on the island. the previous days.

Tour operators

At the same time, one after the other the tour operators and the airlines that handle the largest volume of passengers in Rhodes proceeded to cancel flights and packages at least until the end of the month. In this context, TUI, Europe’s largest tour operator, has decided to cancel all the trips it had planned to Rhodes until Tuesday, July 25, “in order to guarantee everyone’s safety and to return when the situation on the island is calmer and more controlled.” with its newest announcement, it emphasized that its customers bound for Rhodes from Wednesday, July 26, can rebook or alter their booking for free. 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.

In the same direction, the British group Jet2 announced in an announcement at noon on Sunday that due to the fires affecting Rhodes, it will stop until July 30 all flights from the United Kingdom to the island, proceeding with a refund or rebooking, however, it will continue to operate flights from the island of the Knights to the United Kingdom for the repatriation of British tourists.

The British airline easyJet has announced that its flights to Rhodes are still operating, however, its travel arm, easyJet holidays, the company that operates as a tour operator, has decided to cancel all holiday packages to the Dodecanese island until next Wednesday.

For its part, Fraport Greece, the company that has taken over the management of Rhodes airport, emphasized in its announcement that “in order to better serve the passenger public, it is considered appropriate for travelers to consult, first of all, their airline and travel agencies, for any changes to scheduled flights due to emergency conditions, but also the local authorities and the corresponding embassies / consulates, for their smooth access to the airport”.

Finally, Ryanair and SKY express announced that flights to and from Rhodes airport continue as normal.