Tunisia deaths: ABTA promises to see if lessons can be learned
ABTA has promised to see if the travel industry can learn any lessons from the coroner’s report into the murder of 30 British holidaymakers in Sousse.
Earlier today the coroner said all of the British tourists had been unlawfully killed.
They were among 38 holidaymakers gunned down by a lone Islamic terrorist who targeted the Rui Imperial Marhaba hotel in Sousse.
At the conclusion of the inquest held at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, coroner judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith described the Tunisian police response as at best ‘shambolic’, at worst ‘cowardly’, but he said he had not found a direct or causal link between the armed officers’ response and the deaths.
While some of the families of the victims had asked the coroner to consider neglect by the tour operator, TUI, and the hotel, he said the law regarding neglect did not cover holidaymakers.
The coroner also said that better hotel security might not have led to any fewer deaths.
"The Sousse terrorist attack was an appalling attack on innocent holidaymakers involving a terrible loss of life," said an ABTA spokesperson.
"It is entirely appropriate that there has been a thorough investigation into what happened on the day and in the run up to the incident. The coroner has concluded that all victims were unlawfully killed by the actions of a lone gunman.
"The safety and security of holidaymakers is of critical importance to~the travel industry and we will carefully review the coroner’s report when it is published at the end of March~to see if there are any learnings for the industry."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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