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.
British travellers must reappraise their travel preferences. Extreme heat appears to be becoming a feature of some Mediterranean countries, especially in July and August. If temperatures are to continue to rise, then it is beholden on the traveller to ask themselves whether a more northerly destination might be more appropriate and less environmentally damaging.
Doing what they have always done, summer after summer, is not necessarily the correct answer. British seaside resorts, nearby overseas nations including Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands, or the Baltic coast of Poland, are unlikely to see 40C-plus temperatures. Curiously, weather-informed choice already happens in the reverse direction.
UK holidaymakers are famously responsive to wet British summers, with to.