What You Need To Know — Travel To Tunisia

“The Department is urgently reviewing its travel advice in consultation with the appropriate agencies”.

Tour operators and airlines are canceling flights to Tunisia and offering to rebook vacations for free after a bloody terrorist attack at a beachfront hotel.

Since the 26 June when a gunman shot dead 38 foreign tourists, including 30 Britons, on a beach in Sousse, the British government has been working to put additional security measures in place.

Security has already been increased in the wake of the atrocity which saw gunman Seifeddine Rezgui open fire on tourists using a Kalashnikov, but the United Kingdom government says the measures are not enough.

Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid said in a televised speech on Tuesday that Libya had become “the biggest dilemma” affecting Tunisia, confirming that the border construction project aims to “stop terrorist groups from infiltrating”.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has said another terrorist attack on the popular holiday destination with Britons is “highly likely”.

It said Thursday that tourist in Tunisia should contact their travel agents to arrange to leave.

Speaking to IBTimes United Kingdom, he said: “We are all victims of terrorism”.

Heidi Barlow, from Derbyshire, is on holiday in Hammamet with her mother.

Twelve others disappeared in the same way several days ago; villagers have been quoted as saying they may have joined IS, as many of them were known for their extreme religious views.

However Emira Ammar said on the Facebook post: ‘I agree with the concept which I hope internet users will react in a positive way and it will create a good buzz.’.

“We have these threats in Britain anyway”.

“We all feel perfectly safe within the hotel”.

Michelle Ayres, from Newmarket, Suffolk, is staying in Sousse having arrived there last Saturday for a week-long holiday. However, we have had very little new reservations, or let’s say, we haven’t had any more at all. Essid said he believes that the terrorists are purposely targeting Tunisia’s vital tourism industry in an attempt to destabilize the government. That revolt followed years of upheaval between secular and Islamist parties in one of the Arab world’s most secular countries.

Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs said that it has noted the change in British officials advice and is urgently reviewing its own policy. Meddeb left Tunisia just hours before the attack on the beach, hearing of it only when his plane landed in the UK. “That is going to cause economic mayhem”.

Tour operators Thomas Cook, Thomson and First Choice tonight cancelled all bookings to Tunisia up until October 31st.

Independent travellers were advised to return on scheduled commercial flights. A ministry spokesman was not immediately available for comment following the British statement. “If you have booked a package you will be entitled to a refund or alternative holiday”.