Tunisian FM urges UK to reverse tourist pull-out

Tunisian Foreign Minister Taieb Baccouche yesterday urged Britain to reverse a decision advising British citizens against all but essential travel to Tunisia following security threats in the country.

“There is a lot of work to be done in order to convince Britain to reverse its decision, and there is interest from British officials in this regard, especially some lawmakers who are unconvinced by the decision,” Baccouche said at a press conference in Tunis.

Several countries are affected by the British decision, he added.

The Britain Foreign Office called on its nationals living in Tunisia to leave the North African country and warned them against traveling there following an armed attack against tourists in Sousse which killed 38 people, mostly Brits.

Baccouche called on Tunisian diplomatic missions to intensify efforts to encourage tourists to return to Tunisia.

A Tunisian delegation which included Parliament Speaker Mohammed Nasser, the heads of parliamentary blocs, Minister of Tourism Salma Lummi, Transport Minister Mahmoud Bin Ramadan and director of the Imperial Hotel Zahra Idris visited Britain a few days ago in a bid to revive confidence in the country as a tourist destination.

Prior to the armed attack, the government estimated that nearly seven million tourists would visit Tunisia this year.