Why did tourists keep coming as Rhodes and Maui burned? It’s about far more than denial

As the world heats up, we need to confront what our urge to travel is really rooted in — and re-think it, writes Moya Lothian-McLean

Tourists being evacuated after a fifth day of forest fires on the island of Rhodes in July. Tourism is responsible for 8-10% of annual global CO2 emissions. Picture: Rhodes.Rodos via AP

While Rhodes burned, tourists kept flocking in. Homes were being turned to ash, thousands of holidaymakers were being evacuated, and still the visitors came. In the wake of the Hawaii wildfires, which have killed at least 115 people, the island of Maui experienced the same phenomenon.

These images played on my mind as I set off on my own holiday abroad a week later. They niggled at me as I fumbled my way through Turkish thank-yous and waited dutifully in line to see Istanbul’s Blue Mosque. Why did they do it?