TUNISIA has begged the Foreign Office to relax its travel advice on the
country after British visitor levels plummeted by 90 per cent in the wake of
two terror attacks.
Britons are currently warned against all but essential travel to the north
African country, guidance that has been in place since 31 British
holidaymakers were killed in terror attacks in 2015.
But the Tunisian ambassador to the UK, Nabil Ammar, told the BBC the
Government should take into account security improvements that have been
made over the last 12 months.
The Foreign Office said the safety of Britons is its main concern. Mr Ammar,
from Sousse, told the BBC there was now a gap between the “perception
of the level of security, and the real security on the ground”.
He said: “Every week terrorist cells are dismantled. Terrorists are
arrested or neutralised. This should give a positive image, not a negative
one.
“If you take statistics, you have much less chance to die in Tunisia or
to have any harm in Tunisia than so many countries close to us.”
He added that he respected the UK Foreign Office, but that it should not allow “the
impression that this is not a safe country, and take into account all the
progress made” in security.
Mr Ammar also argued that part of the solution against terrorism is to have a
good economy, and that he wanted the tragedy of the attacks to bring the two
countries closer together.
According to the Tunisian Tourist Board, there was a fall of more than 90 per
cent in UK visitors for the first four months of this year compared with the
same period a year ago.
Between January and April 2015, Tunisia saw 84,225 visitors from the UK, but
just 5,980 in the first four months of this year.
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Thirty Britons were among 38 people massacred in the Tunisian resort town of
Sousse in June last year – the worst incident of terrorism involving British
people since the July 7 attacks in London in 2005.
Gunman Seifeddine Rezgui targeted holidaymakers on the beach and in a hotel
before being shot dead by security forces. Terror group ISIS claimed
responsibility.
Three months earlier, ISIS fanatics opened fire on tourists at the Bardo
National Museum in the capital, Tunis. British tourist Sally Adey, 57, from
Shropshire, was among 22 people killed.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: “We know our travel advice can have a
knock-on effect on local economy and political considerations, but we don’t
let this influence the advice we give. The safety of British nationals is
our main concern.
“We are working closely with the Tunisians to understand the terrorist
threat better and to help them to strengthen measures to protect tourists
further. Our travel advice is under constant review and we will change it as
soon as the security situation permits.”