Tunisia travel in trouble

LONDON Searches to Tunisia made by UK travellers have fallen by 22% following the terrorist attack, 18 March, according to hotel search website trivago.co.uk.
Hotel searches made during the four days directly following the attack (19 to 22 March) were compared to searches made the previous week (12 to 15 March). Searches were for a hotel stay during the following six months ( 20 March to 20 September and 1 March to 13 September, respectively).
While travel interest to Tunisia as a whole fell by 22% searches to Hammamet (a beach resort popular among UK holidaymakers) fell by 34%. Hotel searches to capital city Tunsi, where the attack took place, dropped by 19% over the same time period.
Searches to the tourist complex of Port el Kantaoui and the nearby city of Sousse fell by 17% and 11% respectively.
Inside no.8Although the government has not advised against travel to Tunis and the surrounding areas, cruise companies have removed the city from their itinerary. The terrorist attack killed 23 people, including one British national.
Trivago UK public relations, Denise Bartlett commented: “It is common for travel interest to drop immediately following an incident as shocking as the attack in Tunisia last week. In January, trivago found searches to Paris from the UK initially fell by 23% following the attack on the Charlie Hebdo offices.
The next few weeks and months will be crucial in determining whether this incident will affect Tunisia’s tourism industry in the long-term.
“Tunisia is a popular destination among UK travellers, with Hammamet among the 100 most searched-for resort destinations on trivago last summer.”

sourced:ttrweekly.com