This is a blow to the Tunisian Travel and Tourism Industry and to many tourists in the U.K. and Europe. Referring to safety concern UK based Thomas Cook Holidays has announced that it has cancelled all holiday bookings to Tunisia for the next year.
Travel to Tunisia means not only beaches, but culture and shopping. British visitors to Tunisia are an important part of the travel and tourism industry to this North African Country. Thomas Cook will not be running a holiday service to Tunisia for the Summer 2017 season. Their decision is based on continuing concerns over the safety of British and European tourists visiting the country. Any hopes that the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office might change their advice about travel to Tunisia appears to be unfounded.
A spokesperson from Thomas Cook said “We know this will be frustrating for our customers who have been looking forward to their holiday. All customers whose bookings have been affected by this decision are being contacted to arrange an alternative holiday, or a refund if necessary.”
Tourism industry expert, Moez Kacem told Tunisia Live that the news of Thomas Cook cancelling their Summer 2017 service is a huge blow. He stated, “Thomas Cook is the biggest operator, so this is very significant as they bring 2 million tourists each year.” He added the value of business that Thomas Cook brought to Tunisia each year was £138 million in 2015. The main areas hit by this decision will be coastal towns such as Sousse, Monastir and Hammamet; once popular with British people for their sandy beaches and historic town centers.
Tourism, which previously accounted for 7% of the Tunisian national economy, has declined rapidly since the attacks on the Bardo Museum in Tunis and last summer in Sousse.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s most recent update refers to the renewal of the national state of emergency on September 19th. Their general advice is for essential travel only and they specifically advise against known areas of unrest, such as Mount Chambi in Kasserine, and the fragile border regions near Libya
What has been the impact on tourism of recent events in Greece, Tunisia and France, and what should you do if planning a holiday to or via those places?
Greece
Tour operators are not currently offering people the chance of a refund or to postpone pre-booked holidays to Greece, as the FCO advice regarding the country has not changed. Travel companies are encouraging holidaymakers to go ahead with their trips as planned, saying there will be very little effect on them, and that it’s business as usual in the country’s holiday resorts.
Travellers should take enough cash with them to cover all costs, and not rely on ATMs. Although the €60 ATM withdrawal limit is restricted to Greek residents only and ATMs are functioning, there are mixed reports of cash availability.
Some operators advised taking at least two forms of payment, such as travellers’ cheques or pre-loaded cash cards, as well as credit and debit cards (which are still being accepted).
Some cut-price deals are available, such as seven nights in Skiathos for £469pp(31% off) self-catering, including flights from Gatwick, with Sunvil departing 17 July.
Travelers who have booked imminent trips (in the next few days) to Tunisia are generally being given the option to rebook, change or get a refund for their holiday by travel agents, although there is no obligation on agents or operators to do so, now or in the coming weeks and months, as the foreign office is not advising against travel there.
“Many travel companies have been quick to offer customers cancellations free of charge this week, or the opportunity to rebook in the weeks ahead, as they understand people may have concerns about travel to Tunisia following this terrible incident,” said Association of British Travel Agents spokeswoman Gillian Edwards. “Some of the alternative destinations being offered by tour operators include the Canary Islands, Cyprus and Cape Verde.”
Those due to travel to the country in future months may well be offered similar alternatives, but were advised to wait a while before asking holiday companies about their own trips, or to wait to be contacted, as phone lines are currently extremely busy.
Thomson and First Choice – with whom the 30 British tourists who died [as confirmed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on Thursday] in the attack were travelling – said thousands of their customers had cut their holidays short to return to the UK early, though some had decided to stay.
Nick Longman, managing director of both companies, said: “We will be extending the cancellation of all our holidays to Tunisia up to and including 9 July. Customers travelling to Tunisia in this period will be given the opportunity to amend their holidays free of charge to any of our destinations, or receive a full refund. Furthermore, customers planning to travel to Tunisia at any time up until the end of the summer season (31 October) will be able to amend their holidays free of charge to any of our destinations.” The alternatives include 15 new flight destinations, such as the Balearic Islands, mainland Spain, Cape Verde and Cyprus, and those swapping to these new options are to get an extra £50 discount.
Easyjet had launched a new flight route to Monastir on the Tunisian coast, 40 minutes’ drive south from Sousse, on 2 June, from Stansted. Passengers who are due to travel to Monastir and who booked on or before 26 June can obtain a free flight transfer on any date and on any route, or a flight voucher to the value of their unused flights.
However, tourism to Britain’s favourite country does not seem to be suffering. Marine Catalogna, press officer for Atout France, the French tourist board, said: “We have not noticed any slowdown of enquiries in the past two weeks - people have asked for practical tips, or needed reassurance, but no one has mentioned not going. With the exchange rate very much in favour of sterling, we are positive France will remain a favourite this summer.”
Ferry companies, including Brittany Ferries, said they had seen a boost in bookings last week as people were worried about travelling through the Eurotunnel. Many overnight bookings for this week are now fully booked, said a Brittany Ferries spokesperson.
•Travelers to all destinations are strongly advised to take out travel insurance in case they need to cancel their trip for any reason
A Jetairfly aircraft flying yesterday from Germany to Tunis turned around midair after news emerged on the terror attack.
The UK Foreign Office has warned travelers that some attackers may still be at large in Tunisia and has urged people to stay indoors and not disclose information on social media.
Ten bodies have been identified out of 38 -- eight Britons, a Belgian and a German, said senior ministry official Naoufel Somrani. Another 39 people were wounded including British, German and Belgian nationals.
The Tunisian ministry said more time was needed to identify the other victims because most of them were in beachwear at the time of the attack and were not carrying identification.
Ten Thomson Airways flights are travelling to Tunisia from Britaomto bring approximately 2,500 Thomson and First Choice customers home.
All Thomson and First Choice packages to Tunisia will be cancelled for the next week. Amendments can be made to bookings on holidays to Tunisia until 24th July. Instead passengers booked on a holiday to Tunisia can will be offered trips to Cape Verde, Rhodes and Gran Canaria. Additional flights are already scheduled.
Also German tour operators allow free cancellation and are sending planes to Tunisia to pick up travelers.
Tourism is a key component of Tunisia's economy, generating around 15 per cent of its GDP.
TUI joint chief executive Peter Long said: "Our whole organisation is reeling with pain to see the suffering that is taking place in Tunisia with our customers...We are doing our very, very best to look after our guests who are still in Tunisia."
Thomson had hundreds of customers at hotels in the Sousse area, and confirmed several of the victims were its customers, but was unable to confirm how many had been killed or injured.
Itaka Polska, a Polish tour operator is also cancelling all trips to this North African country.
