Opening Hotels in Mykonos Too Risky due to Climate Change

Accor’s chief executive said on Thursday that the group scrapped plans to open two hotels on the Greek island of Mykonos because of water shortages and the risks from fire hazards .

During the company’s earning’s call, CEO Sébastien Bazin said that the rising climate risks forced Accor to cancel the planned Raffles and Fairmont hotels. 

“On climate change, we do have an assessment of the risk nature of what we do every year,” he said. “Climate change is certainly in the top five. We have an assessment on geographies in which we have water shortages and fire hazards.”

Bazin said these hazards are true for some Greek islands, like Mykonos and that the company is no longer building in extreme “fire hazard geographies.”

“In Mykonos, we decided not to open two hotels, which were meant to be built,” he said. 

Recent studies have highlighted growing water shortages in Mykonos, especially during peak tourist seasons. The government is building desalination plants on the island to try and ease the strain.

The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has highlighted the Greek islands and the wider Mediterranean region as a “global climate hotspot,” with rising temperatures increasing the risk of wildfires. 

Bazin suggested that Accor should create a list of existing hotels most affected and at risk because of climate change. 

“We haven't done that yet. And I guess it'd probably be a good thing for us to look at it that way,” he said.

Hospitality career profile’s in-depth reporting on climate issues is made possible through the financial support of Intrepid Travel. This backing allows Hospitality career profile to bring you high-quality journalism on one of the most important topics facing our planet today. Intrepid is not involved in any decisions made by Hospitality career profile’s editorial team.