Rhodes/Hanover, 24 July 2023

Forest fires on Rhodes - TUI informs about current situation

TUI has reassessed the current situation due to the continuing challenging situation caused by the forest fires on Rhodes. In order to ensure the safety of guests and to be able to offer them a trouble-free holiday period, the following measures have been taken:

  • All bookings of TUI holidays to Rhodes will be cancelled up to and including Friday, 28 July 2023. No guests will be taken to the island up to and including Friday, however aircraft will fly out empty to Rhodes so scheduled inbound flights will take place to bring guests back to their home countries. Guests with bookings whose holidays start in the coming days up to and including Sunday, 30 July 2023, can rebook for other destinations or cancel their trip free of charge. We therefore encourage customers with a planned holiday to Rhodes in the coming days, to switch to other destinations.
  • All bookings of TUI holidays to the south-eastern part of the island will also be cancelled up to and including Sunday, 30 July 2023.

For further information, affected holidaymakers are asked to contact TUI. The group is in contact with the local authorities on Rhodes, the South Aegean region and with the Greek government in Athens. On Monday morning, TUI had deployed six additional aircraft to bring holidaymakers from Germany and the UK back to their home countries.

The group had around 39,000 guests on the island, 7,800 of whom were affected by the situation. They were taken to other locations on the island and are staying in hotels or accommodation designated by the local authorities. More than 300 service staff in south-eastern Rhodes for the safety of TUI guests and provide them with replacement accommodation, food and drinks. The situation on the ground is constantly evolving and changing and is regularly reassessed by the travel group.

About TUI Group

The TUI Group is one of the world's leading tourism groups and operates worldwide. The Group is headquartered in Germany. TUI shares are listed in the MDAX index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and in the regulated market of the Lower Saxony Stock Exchange in Hanover. TUI Group offers its 19 million customers integrated services from a single source and forms the entire tourism value chain under one roof. The Group owns over 400 hotels and resorts with premium brands such as RIU, TUI Blue and Robinson and 17 cruise ships, ranging from the MS Europa and MS Europa 2 in the luxury class and expedition ships in the HANSEATIC class to the Mein Schiff fleet of TUI Cruises and cruise ships operated by Marella Cruises in the UK. The Group also includes Europe's leading tour operator brands and online marketing platforms, for example for hotel-only or flight-only offers, five airlines with more than 130 modern medium- and long-haul aircraft and around 1,200 travel agencies. In addition to expanding its core business with hotels and cruises via successful joint ventures and activities in vacation destinations, TUI is increasingly focusing on the expansion of digital platforms. The Group is transforming itself into a global tourism platform company.  

Global responsibility for sustainable economic, environmental and social action is at the heart of our corporate culture. With projects in 25 countries, the TUI Care Foundation initiated by TUI focuses on the positive effects of tourism, on education and training and on strengthening environmental and social standards. In this way, it supports the development of vacation destinations. The globally active TUI Care Foundation initiates projects that create new opportunities for the next generation.

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