Britons are flocking back to terror-hit cities due to bargain holiday deals, despite official warnings against such trips out of fear of more attacks.
Cheap flights and inexpensive hotels have lured holidaymakers to risky destinations such as Turkey and Egypt, which are strife-torn and have a history of terror attacks.
And despite a mass shooting in Sousse, Tunisia, in June 2015, where 30 Brits were slaughtered, holidays there are ‘selling well’, with 44 per cent of travellers being families, according to an annual report by Thomas Cook.
Britons are flocking back to terror-hit cities due to bargain holiday deals, despite official warnings against such trips out of fear of more attacks. Pictured: Memorial set up on a beach in Tunisia after 30 Brits were killed in a terror attack in 2015
Gunman Seifeddine Rezgui (pictured) killed 38 people, including 30 British tourists, in a shooting spree at a beach resort at Port El Kantaoui near Sousse. The attack, one of three that shook Tunisia that year, was claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group
Thomas Cook notes that despite the danger, the nation’s ‘appetite for sunshine at a fair price fuels demand to revisit these old favourites,’ reported the Mirror.
Before the beach attack in Tunisia, more than 400,000 British tourists visited annually. In the years since, although significantly lower, numbers are rising.
The tour operator reported that package bookings to Egypt have increased by 89 per cent, just three years after 224 people were killed in an IS terror attack at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Turkey has seen an increase of 84 per cent, where 61 per cent of visitors are families.
The Foreign Office still warns against visiting the Red Sea but tourist numbers have nearly returned to where they were before the attack.
The office also cautions that in Turkey and Tunisia ‘terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks’.
Cheap flights and inexpensive hotels have lured holidaymakers to risky destinations such as Turkey (pictured) and Egypt, which are strife-torn and have a history of terror attacks
But even with the ‘heightened risk of terrorism against aviation’ in Egypt, more than 319,000 Britons visited the country in 2017.
Flights and hotel stays are at bargain prices in these countries and holiday package deals reduce the cost even further.
Jet2Holidays offers flight and all-inclusive stays at four-star resorts for seven nights, costing less than £500.
Last July, Britain lifted the travel warning for virtually all of Tunisia’s Mediterranean coastline following ‘security improvements’ in the North African country.
However, it continues to advise against travel to southern Tunisia, along the border with Libya, and advises against all but essential travel along the western border with Algeria.
In February, Britain’s security minister, Ben Wallace, praised efforts by Tunisia to boost security and said he expects a return of tourists. Pictured: Gunman Seifeddine Rezgui
In February, Britain’s security minister, Ben Wallace, praised efforts by Tunisia to boost security and said he expects a return of tourists.
In June 2015, gunman Seifeddine Rezgui killed 38 people, including 30 British tourists, in a shooting spree at a beach resort at Port El Kantaoui near Sousse.
The attack, one of three that shook Tunisia that year, was claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group.
It prompted Britain to impose a warning against ‘all but essential travel’ to Tunisia.
Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui said London’s decision to ease the travel ban ‘has had a positive impact’.
‘God willing, the next season will see an influx of British tourists in Tunisia,’ he said.