The governor of the South Aegean region George Hatzimarkos has praised the way people “worked as a team” in response to the recent wildfires on Rhodes when speaking at the regional government office on the island on Saturday.
He described travel agents as “key players” in their role of supporting those who were affected by the fires and sending clients back to the island once it was safe. He also praised the unions and the chambers of commerce, stating that “everybody was working as a member of the same team, [which is] the only way to deal with very difficult situations”.
Hatzimarkos, who presides over the biggest island region in Greece and Europe, stressed that Rhodes is “absolutely safe”, with only two of the island’s 600 hotels still closed.
The governor described the situation as “a climate crisis”, stating that “the next task is to prolong the season” to accommodate for guests not wanting to visit in the hottest months of July and August.
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By staying open until November, Rhodes would “make up” for the two weeks lost due to the fires, which saw thousands of holidaymakers evacuated.
Stating that “the island got back to normal 48 hours after the wildfires”, the governor emphasised that “people in the north, northwest and northeast of the island never even felt anything” and that 25,000 holidaymakers in affected areas were “safely relocated”.
Vassilis Psyllakis, general manager of the Kresten Royal Euphoria Resort in Kallithea, spoke positively of the possibility of the season extending, stating that this year it open from March to November. The hotel was “fully booked on its second week of being open, and at 90% occupancy in April”.
Across the island, occupancy levels are returning to normal. The Atlantica Dreams resort, which had to evacuate 1,000 guests and close for two weeks, is currently “almost fully booked” with only 16 rooms empty.
Dimitris Nicolaides, co-owner of the Atlantica Hotels and Resorts chain, the largest of its kind in Greece, said “the volunteers and the people here are the main reason for the control of the fire”.
He assured that “holidays here are uninterrupted” but pleaded for travel agents to “convince our customers that the only way to support the island is to come back”.
Nicolaides spoke of Atlantica’s aim for its hotels to “become emission free” at some point in the future.
He said “climate change is here to stay”, so his group is “implementing sustainable practices and have saved over 19% of energy over the last 18 months with solar panels”.
H Hotels, which own six hotels in south Rhodes, closed for ten days and evacuated more than 6,000 people.
The group’s sales director, Stamatis Hatzilazarou, said that they were “at 99% occupancy upon evacuation, and at 70% now” but it’s “picking up day by day”.
Hoteliers from around the island also hailed teamwork as a key factor in helping the island to recover.
Michael Karayiannis, general manager of La Marquise Luxury Resort in Kallitheas in the northeast, said the people of Rhodes “have hospitality in our heart”. La Marquise hosted 120 evacuated guests, and some members of staff worked “24 hours a day” to support those affected.
Some hotels are implementing sustainability initiatives in a bid to entice guests back to the island. The Lindos Imperial, part of the Lindos Hotels group which manages six properties in southern Rhodes, is planting a tree for every new booking.
Dimitra Grigoropoulou, the group’s director of sales and marketing, spoke about a forest ambassador programme, describing how trees are planted “in the local area and guests receive a certificate”.
She also said that guests can “go and see or do [the planting] themselves”.
Grigoropoulou explained how the initiative helps guests “feel like they’ve given something back” and that they’ve “already planted 50 trees”. There is also a donation box in the reception at the Lindos Imperial for guests to contribute to the replanting initiatives.