Terrorism warnings dismissed by operators
Tour operators are urging overseas visitors not to boycott Europe in light of recent terrorism warnings.
The Foreign Office and US government has warned travellers of a "high threat" of terrorist attacks in European countries, including France and Germany, after intelligence agencies learned of a new al-Qaida plot.
Tom Jenkins, executive director of ETOA, said Europe remains a safe destination for visitors and said tourists should not be deterred.
He said if tourists stayed away, it would “only add to the hysteria and compound the damage Al-Qaeda or other groups are trying to inflict”.
He questioned the government warnings, saying: “It is difficult to understand what purpose underlies statements advising people to avoid crowded areas. Are the crowds themselves not at risk?
“It would be far more responsible for those in authority to issue their assessment of comparative risk. How much more dangerous is visiting the Louvre than crossing the street?
“Terrorists do not damage an economy by what they do but by the reaction to what they do. It is vital the public keep these official statements in perspective.”
But flight comparison website said the warnings had already impacted searches from its American customers, even to the UK.
It said US searches to UK had dropped 35% week on week, while searches to Germany were down 40% and France down 42%.
It said the trend was mirrored in Britain where the government raised the threat levels of terrorism in France and Germany to “high”.
As a result, Skyscanner reported a 42% decline in searches from the UK to France and a 40% drop in searches from UK to Germany.
But Skyscanner CEO Gareth Williams said the drop was only likely to be short lived.
“It is not surprising that the public have been put off flying to countries cited as potential al Qaeda targets, certainly in the immediate aftermath of recent warnings.
“However, I don’t expect this to remain the case indefinitely; people have to travel for numerous reasons and will continue to do so.
“Visit Britain noted that previous alerts had not put off tourists significantly and we know from our own data that that searches for flights to destinations affected by terrorism soon bounce back to normal levels.”
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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