DANGER TO RETURN TO TUNISIA
THEN NOW
90 per cent. The advice has now been downgraded, though attacks are still classed as “highly likely”.
But the prospect of all-inclusive seven-day holidays for as little as £280 meant the first three flights were sold out.
Many tourists even had connections with those caught up in the 2015 attacks.
Retired chef Lynn Allan, 60, from Haydock, Merseyside, and husband Stan used to visit twice a year.
She said: “Our neighbours were in the hotel the day it happened. He was in his room but she was by the pool.
“He thought he heard fireworks but then saw something on the telly and ran down to get her.
“They stayed in the room for two days afterwards because there were no flights. He would come back but she wouldn’t.”
And while holidaymakers are defiant, some admit family and friends are concerned.
Courtney Boddison, 25, and husband Dale, 22, arrived after their wedding in Telford, Shropshire, last Saturday. She said: “My family were more worried than we were.”
Carol MacKenzie, Thomas Cook’s head of customer welfare, said: “We’re starting in just a few resorts, mainly near Hammamet where we are confident we can offer the high quality our customers expect.
“We always follow UK Government advice on where we can offer flights and holidays, because they are the experts in security.
“We also listen to our customers in where they want to go on holiday.
“Since it closed for British holidaymakers three years ago, we’ve had lots of customers asking us when Tunisia will be back on sale.
“Its soft, long beaches with year-round sun, historic ruins and enchanting desert villages make Tunisia a destination that attracts lots of loyal visitors.”
The UK and other western counties have helped Tunisia beef up security. Hotels now check vehicles with metal detectors. Many also employ guards to patrol entrances and beaches.
Met Police officers have trained staff how to spot suspicious behaviour. One bar worker, who did not want to be named, said he was given two weeks’ training and had to take a written exam.
While an armed policeman patrols the shore in front of Hammamet’s Orangers Beach, two other security guards are not legally allowed guns.
However, sales manager Wajdi Boujadaria said: “We have increased security by 40 per cent.” UK experts have also helped overhaul security at Tunis, Djerba, Monastir and Enfidha airports.
But most beaches are still empty and hotels are struggling. The effects are even more keenly felt at the scene of the atrocity near Sousse.
The spot where Rezgui was shot dead is still marked with bullet holes.
The revamped hotel, now German owned and renamed the Steigenberger, has an airport-style security system.
But the only person on the beach is a guard and a memorial to the victims has been removed.
Nearby, however, is a plaque commemorating the UK dead. Beside it, Christine Berkenshaw, 71, and Robert Oddy, 76, are laying flowers.
The Staffordshire pair used to come here each year for six weeks during the winter.
Christine remembers June 26, 2015. She said: “We saw it on the lunchtime news. I burst into tears.
“It’s a sad reliving it all. I didn’t even know them.
“But as I walked from the beach into the grounds, I got a funny feeling in my stomach.”
At the former Rui Imperial Marhaba, manager Ramzy Kessissa said: “Nobody will forget but we have to move on.
“We will not let the terrorists win. We have to look to a positive future.”