Tunisia holidays to go back on sale
Tour operators are considering re-launching programmes to Tunisia after the Foreign Office yesterday stopped advising against all but essential travel to most of the country following an increase in security in major cities and resorts.
Welcoming the change in advice, the Tunisian tourist office said it was hoping for last minute summer bookings and winter business from the UK.
Mounira Ben Cherifa, director of the Tunisian National Tourist Office in the UK, said: "We will be communicating with all of our tour operators to see how quickly we can get airlift reinstated, meanwhile Tunis Air are flying daily from London Heathrow and Gatwick into Tunis".
However, mainstream tour operators including Thomson, Thomas Cook and Monarch have not yet stated if and when they will return to Tunisia.
They all said they were considering re-launching programmes, but did not say how soon.
A spokesman for Thomas Cook said: "We’re pleased that the Foreign Office has taken this decision to open Tunisia back up to Brits. It’s great for Tunisia, which used to welcome many thousands of British holidaymakers.
"We’ll take a bit of time to look at how and when we put this once-popular destination back on sale and we will update our customers when have any further news."
Thomson, whose clients were killed in a terror attack in Sousse in June 2015, prior to the Foreign Office imposing a travel ban, said it would take into account customer demand before re-introducing Tunisia for future seasons.
Monarch said it was assessing whether to return to the destination following the new advice from the Foreign Office, which is now only warning against travel to parts of the south and interior and certain areas close to Algeria and Libya.
Specialist operators such as Just Sunshine are likely to be the first to start re-selling Tunisia. The company said it was hoping to reintroduce flights ‘as quickly as possible’.
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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