While travel interest to Tunisia as a whole fell by 22 per cent, searches to Hammamet (a beach resort popular among UK holidaymakers) fell by 34 percent. Hotel searches to capital city Tunsi, where the attack took place, dropped by 19 per cent over the same time period.
LONDON – Searches to Tunisia made by UK travellers have fallen by 22 per cent following the terrorist attack on Wednesday 18th March, according to hotel search website trivago.co.uk.
|
Destination |
Travel Interest |
|
Hammamet |
-34% |
|
Tunis |
-19% |
|
Port el Kantaoui |
-17% |
|
Sousse |
-11% |
|
Overall: |
-22% |
Hotel searches made during the four days directly following the attack (19th March to 22nd March) were compared to searches made the previous week (12th March to 15th March). Searches were for a hotel stay during the following six months (from 20th March to 20th September and 13th March to 13th September, respectively).
While travel interest to Tunisia as a whole fell by 22 per cent, searches to Hammamet (a beach resort popular among UK holidaymakers) fell by 34 percent. Hotel searches to capital city Tunsi, where the attack took place, dropped by 19 per cent over the same time period.
Searches to the tourist complex of Port el Kantaoui and the nearby city of Sousse fell by 17 per cent and 11 per cent respectively.
Although the government has not advised against travel to Tunis and the surrounding areas, cruise companies have removed the city from their itinerary. The terrorist attack killed 23 people, including one British national.
Denise Bartlett, UK Public Relations: “It is common for travel interest to drop immediately following an incident as shocking as the attack in Tunisia last week. In January, trivago found searches to Paris from the UK initially fell by 23 per cent following the attack on the Charlie Hebdo offices.
The next few weeks and months will be crucial in determining whether this incident will affect Tunisia’s tourism industry in the long term. Tunisia is a popular destination among UK travellers, with Hammamet among the 100 most searched-for resort destinations on trivago last summer. Supporters have already taken to social media to show solidarity towards the county.”
Photo caption: Tunis.
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
