Tunisia Waiting for Go Ahead From British Government

Tunisia has declared that it is ready to welcome tourists again, and is now waiting to get the go ahead from the British government.

The Tunisian National Tourist Office, is now waiting for the British government to relax the current ban on Brits travelling to the once popular tourist destination.

The North African country is currently under a state of emergency, with the British Foreign Commonwealth Office advising against all but essential travel to the majority of Tunisia.

The country was put under a state of emergency after a series of terror attacks last year.

In June 2015, 38 people were killed in Port El Kantaoui, in the North of Tunisia. Lone gunman, Seifeddine Rezgui, opened fire on the beach of the RIU Imperial Marhaba Hotel, before continuing to rampage through the pool area, and into the main building of the hotel. 33 Britons were killed, along with 3 Irish nationals.

After working with Tunisian authorities since the attack, the FCDO have said: “Since the terrorist attack in Sousse in June 2015, we have been working closely with the Tunisian Authorities to investigate the attack and the wider threat from terrorist groups in Tunisia.

“Although we have had good co-operation from the Tunisian government, including putting in place additional security measures, the intelligence and threat picture has developed considerably, reinforcing our view that a further terrorist attack is highly likely.”

Speaking about the hard work that Tunisian and British Authorities have done, in order to step up their security levels, the Tunisian National Tourist Office trade manager, Sami Tounsi, said: “The good thing now is that the Tunisia government and the UK government are working hand-in-hand to improve security standards, training military and the police.

“Tunisia never experienced such an atrocity before. Before the attack we had no cameras in hotels but now we have them in all hotels, on the roads and in resorts,” he said at this week's World Travel Market.

Some countries, including Sweden, Spain, Germany, and France, have recently decided to lift their travel restrictions to Tunisia.

“In 2014 we received one million visitors from France, and this year we had 300,000. For the UK it dropped from 425,000 down to 18,000,” he continued.

Due to travel restrictions continuing in countries across Europe, including Britain, Ireland, Belgium, and Holland, Tunisia is now looking at reaching out to other countries including Russia and China, to boost their tourism.

“But there is still enough room for the Brits,” Tounsi said.

Published 09 Nov 2016

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