British Tour Company Thomas Cook Ceases Operations Leaving 500,000 European Travelers Stranded.

LONDON (AP) — British tour operator Thomas Cook has ceased trading and all its hundreds of thousands of bookings canceled after the firm failed to secure rescue funding.

The Civil Aviation Authority announced the film’s collapse early Monday. More than 600,000 vacationers had booked through the company.

CAA said 150,000 are British customers now abroad who will have to be repatriated.
350,000 German travelers are also believed to be affected.

The group’s four airlines will be grounded and its 21,000 employees in 16 countries, including 9,000 in the UK, will be left unemployed.

The debt-laden company had said Friday it was seeking 200 million pounds ($250 million) to avoid going bust, was in talks with shareholders and creditors to stave off failure

Thomas Cook Says No To Tunisia Tourism For 2017

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