New Foreign Office travel advice ‘huge boost’ for Tunisia
James ChappleThe Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has revised its travel advice for Tunisia, softening its stance on travel to the country.
The move has been welcomed by tourist board, Discover Tunisia, which described the move as a “huge boost” for the country.
Tunisia was rocked in June 2015 by the devastated Sousse terror attack, in which 30 Britons were killed.
Since then, the FCO has persistently urged caution when travelling to the north African state.
Charter flights from the UK were suspended following the attack, but resumed in February with the return of Thomas Cook. Tui has also since resumed flights to Tunisia.
MORE: Sousse survivor calls on industry to champion FCO travel advice
The FCO on Thursday said it was now no longer advising against all but essential travel to the town of Jendouba, around 120 miles from capital Tunis.
It has also revised down the threat level for some areas of southern Tunisia, including Medenine, Tataouine and Douz.
Tunisia’s key tourist locations on its eastern Mediterranean coast, such Sousse and Hammamet, carry only an FCO advisory notice reminding visitors to read its advice before travelling.
MORE: Special Report - an emotional return to Tunisia
Posting on Facebook on Thursday (June 14), Discover Tunisia said: “The FCO has changed its travel advice by extending the green areas to travel around safely in Tunisia.
“This news represents a huge boost for Tunisia confidence as a reliable [and] safe destination for tourists.”
Wahida Jaiet, director of the Tunisia National Tourist Office, added: “The change in the FCO travel advice will give a huge boost to confidence in Tunisia. 2018 is the year to rebuild faith and trust in Tunisia.”
State of emergency ongoing
The FCO has now advised against all but essential to Tunisia’s Biq region, and continues to advise travellers not to visit the countries southernmost border with Libya, as well as parts of its western border with Algeria such as the Chaambi Mountains National Park.
Tunisia’s state of emergency, declared after a suicide attack on a police bus in November 2015, has been repeatedly extended, most recently on March 12 for a further seven months.
Since the Sousse attack, says the FCO, the UK government has been working with the Tunisian authorities to investigate the wider threat from terrorist groups, adding the Tunisian government had since improved protective security measures in major cities and tourist resorts.
However, tourists are still warned to be vigilant to the threat posed by terrorism, especially attacks specifically targeting westerners.
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James Chapple
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