Fearing for their safety in Tunisia after a gunman killed dozens of tourists, sun-seeking Europeans are switching to destinations such as Spain, Bulgaria or even Greece for holidays this year.
Tunisia’s tourism industry had been recovering after the Arab Spring unrest, and had become a popular lower-cost beach holiday spot for Europeans. Last year, 2.8 million travelled there, rebounding back towards 3.8 million level seen in 2010 before the uprising, according to official statistics.
But last week’s attack – in which 38 people were killed by an Islamist gunman at a beach hotel, mostly Britons – added to security fears raised after a massacre at the Bardo museum in March, when two gunmen opened fire on tourists.
Now many tourists who had planned or booked Tunisian trips are looking elsewhere.