Greece wildfires 2024: what must we learn from the Rhodes fire crisis?

This week the term “Mediterranean island escape” acquired a new meaning. Wildfires swept across part of the isle of Rhodes, triggering the evacuation of thousands of tourists.

Package holidays to the Greek island are resuming this weekend. But with fire risks also high in other parts of Greece and elsewhere around the Mediterranean, prospective holidaymakers are increasingly concerned about their rights.

The Greek authorities, holiday companies and the UK Foreign Office also face difficult questions about their response to the emergency.

This seven-point plan shows how the travel industry, holidaymakers and government need urgently to change in response to the increase in extreme weather and other dangers.

Destination choices

British travellers must reappraise their travel preferences. Extreme heat appears to be becoming a feature of some Mediterranean countries, especially in July and August.

Doing what we have always done, summer after summer, is not necessarily the correct answer.

If temperatures continue to rise, a more northerly destination will be more appropriate and less environmentally damaging. A wide range of holiday locations are unlikely to encounter extreme heat, for example:

Curiously, weather-informed choice already happens in the reverse direction. UK holidaymakers are famously responsive to wet British summers.

If it rains relentlessly from June to September, tour operators know to expect strong bookings for overseas holidays for the following summer.

Upfront risk assessments

Tragedy inevitably accompanies mass tourism. But risks can be minimised. Prospective holidaymakers should conduct their own research about potential dangers. Road accidents and drownings account for most deaths of British tourists abroad, but threats posed by wildfires, natural disasters and terrorism must also be taken into account.

Holiday companies must be upfront and transparent at the point of booking about risks – whether climatic, tectonic or political – and explain how they manage those dangers.

Watching briefs

Accounts from holidaymakers caught up in the Rhodes wildfires repeatedly indicate that the threat posed by nearby wildfires was ignored until almost too late.

When…