The forest fires hit Rhodes hard in the middle of the high season. Thousands of holidaymakers had to be evacuated - including numerous guests of DER Travel and Tourism tour operators. By 25 July, all our guests who were affected by the evacuation and wanted to return had already landed safely back in Germany. DER Travel and Tourism Foundation e.V. launched a fundraising campaign to support the people affected by the forest fires on Rhodes.

Melanie Gerhardt, Head of Crisis Management at DER Travel and Tourism. Around two weeks have passed since then. We asked Melanie Gerhardt, Head of Crisis Management at DER Travel and Tourism, what the situation looks like now, how people are doing and whether holidays on Rhodes are possible again. Melanie Gerhardt was on site herself immediately after the fires and, as Chairwoman of the Crisis and Safety Management Committee of the German Travel Association (DRV), assessed the situation in close cooperation with the local civil protection organisation.

one: Mrs Gerhardt, the severe fires raged on Rhodes for eleven days - until the end of July. You were there in person at the end of July and are in constant contact with your colleagues on the island. How are the local people doing?

„It was a load off my mind when the Civil Defence announced that all guests and the affected population were safe and the last evacuation boat had docked in Rhodes Town.“Melanie Gerhardt

Melanie Gerhardt: Thank God no-one has been harmed. All the residents are safe and well! Despite the tragic forest fire, and although some have lost all their belongings, people are incredibly grateful that no residents or holidaymakers were injured - and that all Travel and Tourism were successfully evacuated. I was also relieved at 4.30 a.m. on Saturday night (23 July) when the Civil Protection announced that all guests were safe and that the affected population and the last evacuation boat had docked in Rhodes Town.

Until then, you just work automatically. Every move that we have been practising for years for emergencies in the industry is in place - and of course this applies to all sectors in such a crisis situation.

one: Despite all your professionalism and experience in crisis management - how did the crisis on Rhodes affect you?
Melanie Gerhardt : Of course very much, you never lose that! In the discussions with the Foreign Office and the civil protection organisation, you could feel the growing tension and the time pressure on the authorities and the military from minute to minute. Decisions sometimes had to be made every minute and implemented quickly. We were often informed at very short notice that boat transfers were being organised and that every fishing boat was also supposed to take in guests. In some cases, the tour guides of the organisers received direct instructions from the disaster control to stay with the guests and keep an eye on their own guests. The situation was very dynamic.

„We had to react very quickly under great time pressure with our support units on site - and together in the sector.“Melanie Gerhardt

In my role as Chairwoman of the DRV Crisis and Safety Management Committee and as a link to the crisis team of the Federal Foreign Office, I had a direct line to the local disaster control authorities during the fire and was in dialogue with all the relevant players and therefore always up to date. I then had to pass on the information very quickly to our colleagues in the organisation - via language regulations or information newsletters. While the conferences were still going on, I wrote recommendations for action so that our specialist departments could base their operational measures on them and everyone had the same level of information at the same time. We had to react very quickly under great time pressure with our support units on site - and we had to do this together in the sector.

The centre of Rhodes after the fire.
one: How is the situation on the island now, around two weeks after the disaster?
Melanie Gerhardt : If you drive from the airport in the north along the coast towards the south, you will hardly notice any changes in the landscape on large parts of the route. The forest fire only affected the centre of the island and part of the south-east coast. Two weeks after the fire was extinguished, there are only a few charred areas to indicate what happened, particularly around the village of Kiotari.

one: What is the state of the tourism infrastructure in the north?
Melanie Gerhardt: The tourist infrastructure in the north of Rhodes is fully available. This applies to all the main holiday resorts such as Rhodes Town, Faliraki/Kalithea, Afandou, Kolymbia and Archangelos. The hotels in the DER Travel and Tourism product range are operating there without any restrictions.

one: And what is the situation like in the south?
Melanie Gerhardt: More differentiated, because the south was directly affected by the forest fires. The flames have left scars on the landscape here and a lot of nature has also been destroyed. You can still see exactly where the fires raged and where the civil defence had already done an excellent job beforehand, as villages were protected with firebreaks.

„The tourist infrastructure in the south shows hardly any signs of the fires. This is not least due to the good work of the local civil protection organisation, which was able to protect villages and hotels from the flames by creating targeted firebreaks.“Melanie Gerhardt