WILL YOUR RESORT BE SAFE THIS YEAR?
After the Tunisia horror, the question haunting holidaymakers
AS HOLIDAY companies cancel trips to Tunisia’s capital following this week’s massacre of 20 foreign tourists at a museum, the threat Islamic State could pose to British holidaymakers has been brought sharply into focus. The harrowing revelation that a Shropshire woman died in the attack in what is regarded as a moderate Islamic nation has raised the possibility that the influence of these hate-filled terrorists has spread to other African and Mediterranean countries popular with UK holidaymakers.
With the Easter holidays near, many British people must now question whether once apparently safe destinations have been infected by the barbaric Islamic State ideology.
A spokeswoman for travel watchdog ABTA said that while British tourists tend to be quite resilient and have a ‘levelheaded’ view of terrorist threats, holidaymakers should consult the Foreign Office before travelling. But how safe are traditional destinations for British travellers?
TUNISIA THE shootings in Tunisia, which has a fledgling democracy, could severely damage the country’s tourism trade. Its holiday industry had made an impressive recovery since the Arab Spring in 2011. That year, 408,000 British nationals visited, rising to about 420,000 last year.
After Wednesday’s attack, the Foreign Office issued advice not to go to the area surrounding the museum ‘ until further notice’.
While 6,500 UK tourists in Tunisia are mainly in the coastal resorts (where security is higher), holiday operators such as Thomson and First Choice have stopped day excursions to the capital (see box).
TURKEY MORE than two-and-half million Brits fly to Turkey each year. While most visit Mediterranean resorts, many head for Istanbul, its cultural and historical heart.
In recent months it has emerged that British youngsters infatuated with Islamic State have flown there and travelled south to slip into war-torn Syria.
While most popular resorts are hundreds of miles from the Syrian border, there are still active terrorist groups in the whole country, some inspired by IS.
The Foreign Office classifies the threat of terrorism as ‘high’ across all of Turkey (the same as in France following the Charlie Hebdo shootings), advising against all travel to borders with Syria.
Last year, a car bomb at a petrol station near a border-crossing killed dozens of people.
In January, a banned Marxist group used a suicide bomber to kill a policeman in Istanbul’s Sultanahmet, near the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia museum, the city’s most famous attractions.
EGYPT RESORTS such as Sharm el Sheikh on the Red Sea have made Egypt a top winter sun destination for British families. At one point 9,000 UK visitors were at that resort on any single day during peak season.
But the country has been rocked by political turmoil since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in 2011. After the country descended into military rule after the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood, the number of tourists visiting dropped by 25 per cent. Political demonstrations, sometimes leading to violence, are commonplace.
The political instability has led to a series of deadly bomb attacks in the capital, Cairo, usually targeting soldiers, police and businesses. But, the influence of Islamic State in the country is increasing.
Last September, an IS spokesman issued a chilling online call to arms to Egyptian radicals saying: ‘If you can kill a disbelieving American or European . . . including the citizens of the countries that entered into a coalition against the Islamic State, kill him.’ In November the Sinai-based, Al Qaedainspired Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (ABM) group pledged allegiance to IS. And last year, a suicide bomber blew up a bus killing three South Korean pilgrims on a trip to St Catherine’s Monastery near the Egypt-Israeli border crossing. Tour operators halted excursions to the monastery.
The Foreign Office advises against all travel to North Sinai, and only essential travel to much of South Sinai. However, holiday resorts including Sharm el Sheikh, Sharm el Maya, Hadab, Naama Bay, Sharks Bay and Nabq are deemed safe because of the high security patrols and vehicle checks. Anyone landing at Sharm el Sheikh or Hurghada airports cannot fail to spot the armed military presence.
The advice adds that terrorist attacks continue to be planned throughout Egypt, although aimed at security forces in Cairo and Alexandria.
You are also advised not to go near the Libyan border or anywhere remote in case of kidnapping.
MOROCCO IN 2011, Morocco’s reputation as a country relatively free from extremism was shattered when an explosion ripped through a Marrakesh restaurant in a popular tourist spot.
In total, 17 people perished and 20 were injured when a bomb hidden in a handbag detonated at the Argana café. Most of those killed were tourists, including one Briton and a group of French students — one only ten. It was the first major terror attack in the country for eight years.
About 400,000 Britons visit the country each year, often to see Marrakech, as well as Fez and Casablanca. While the Foreign Office warns of a ‘general threat’ from terrorism — the same it gives for America and Canada — it says the government there has recently
raised its level of vigilance due to the conflicts in Syria and Iraq. Concern about the possible influence of IS was compounded last year when it released a video featuring eight Moroccan IS members who said they ‘intend to bring jihad to Moroccan soil’.
DUBAI
THIS emirate on the south-east coast of the Persian Gulf is the financial and tourist hub of the United Arab Emirates.
About a million UK tourists visit every year. While Islamic terrorists have largely left it alone, the government said it foiled a plot in 2012. The Foreign Office again says there is a ‘general’ threat of terrorism which could target ‘British interests’, adding that ‘attacks can’t be ruled out and could be indiscriminate, including in places frequented by foreigners’.
JORDAN
FOR more adventurous travellers, Jordan has become increasingly popular. Even no-frills air- line flights travel there, taking people to see ancient sites such as Aqaba, Amman and Petra, as well as the Dead Sea.
The country does, however, share borders with Syria and Iraq. Recently, there has been growing concern that Islamic State is garnering support there.
In February, the U.S. Embassy published a warning after receiving information that up-market shopping malls in Amman would be targeted, probably in a terrorist attack similar to the shooting in the Westgate shopping mall in Kenya.
Although, the Jordanian government stepped up security patrols, American embassy staff and their citizens were advised to avoid shopping centres.
The Foreign Office says there is only a ‘ general’ threat of terrorism in Jordan.
KENYA
THE capital Nairobi and Mombassa have had spates of grenade attacks and shootings at public gatherings.
Six British nationals were among those killed in the Westgate shopping mall attack in Nairobi in 2013.
The Foreign Office says there is a ‘high’ risk of terrorism, advising against travelling near borders with Somalia, where the Al Shabaab militant group is based and kidnappings of Westerners are more likely.
Referring to the Westgate shootings it says ‘further attacks are likely’, adding that coastal areas where many beach resorts are have also been targeted.