That the Government could help those not able to go to Rhodes in a simple way

[LlynTegid]

By the Foreign Office saying 'essential travel only'? At least allows for insurance claims to reduce the amount anyone is out of pocket.

I totally misread this and was baffled as to why you were saying the government should help holiday makers out who had not been able to go 🤦🏼‍♀️ No idea why I didn’t see the ? The first couple of times I read it.

The government are knowingly helping the insurance companies instead by not stating essential travel only.

Or asleep as they often are at times of crisis. Especially ministers.

They really aren’t asleep. Most action or inaction is very calculated but it is easier for us to accept that our government is slow/inept vs they don’t prioritise our interests over business interests (although some would argue that business interests are our interests).

Tui have said that hotels/holidays on the other side of the country are unaffected and holiday makers can still travel if they want to eg: to Faliraki.

It's probably the government ministers who own the insurance companies lol.

Or their mates. Wankers.

If they say essential travel only then people who want to travel to the unaffected areas will have insurance issues.

Are you saying tax payers should compensate those who have had to cancel their holiday because of wild fires?
That would be a big fat no from me

No the OP is not saying that.

The OP is sying of the government declared the affected area should be 'essential travel only' insurance would pay out.

No, @LakeTiticaca - I believe it’s so people can claim on their travel insurance.

Could the foreign office not stipulate ‘essential travel only’ to the affected areas?

It's a large island. The other side is safe to go to. This was from tui this morning

It’s summer holidays. Think of the number of people who would ordinarily be travelling there and the amount the insurance companies would have to pay out if the government declared essential travel only. It would increase premiums for everyone and some insurers might struggle to meet the cost.

Surely if insurance pays out that affects everyone in increased premiums?

It's not what I would class as a crisis

@Maddy70 That's Corfu, not Rhodes.

Parts of Rhodes are still fine

Thomas Cook is just putting people in different hotels. I'm off to Gorfu tomorrow and not in the slightest bit alarmed. I've lived in Greece, fires happen. I'd still. go to Rhodes if I was due to fly.

Possibly the UK goverment thinks it's up to the Greek goverment and the authorities on Rhodes, who have the most up to date local information, to decide who can visit their island. If they don't want tourists, they can close the airport to tourist flights.

This is how much of Rhodes is affected.

@LindseysDoily the “risk” of them having to pay out is literally already calculated in the premiums that have been paid - it won’t affect future premiums in itself. That’s how insurance works. If nobody ever claimed on it there would be no point it existing!

Or on holiday.

If people are booked to go to areas far away from the wildfires, they should still go. They won't want their holiday cancelled, and neither will the airlines, hoteliers or restaurants etc.

For the people booked to go to an area affected by the wildfires, of course their holiday should be amended without extra charges or cancelled with a full refund or travel insurance payout. It doesn't need an 'essential travel only' restriction for that to happen.

Yes.

government should of course step in if it’s unsafe but that’s not the case for the vast majority of accommodation options.

My BIL and SIL are out there. They were told to evacuate their hotel on Saturday night and then told they could go back yesterday morning. They are finishing off their last few days of holiday before flying home. There’s no need for the government to declare “essential travel only”. Most of the island is fine, even in “affected areas” some hotels are ok. This is just part of summer in that part of the world. There’s no need for people staying in Rhodes or Faliraki to cancel, and insurance will pay out anyway if the tour company cancels or your hotel is not accepting guests.