TUI accused of ignoring warnings before Sousse, Tunisia, beach attack
Families of British holidaymakers killed at a Mediterranean beach resort in Tunisia last year claim travel giant TUI Group ignored security warnings and put the victims at risk through ‘unhappy and unfair’ practices.
The tour operator has been accused of cutting prices to encourage bookings and failing to warn customers of the unstable security situation in the North African country following an earlier terror attack.
The allegations are outlined in legal papers submitted to the Tunisia Inquests on behalf of the relatives of 16 of 30 Britons who died in the June 2015 massacre, which left 38 people dead.
Thirty-eight people, including 30 British tourists, were killed in a terror attack on a beach in Sousse, Tunisia
The papers, submitted by Andrew Ritchie, QC, and obtained by MailOnline, claim TUI – the world’s largest travel company, with brands including Thomson – ignored security warnings from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, offered steep discounts to sell packages despite being aware of security concerns in Tunisia, and discouraged cancellations with a policy that meant holidaymakers would not get any money back.
The families ague the FCO’s travel advice on the heightened terrorism risk – issued after 22 people were killed in an attack on the Bardo National Museum in the capital of Tunis the previous March – should have been mentioned on TUI’s website, in its brochures and on its booking forms.
Ritchie wrote in the papers: ‘The families are very concerned that TUI and the travel industry in England and Wales more generally were and still are involved in a general practice which puts customers at risk by hiding or ignoring the FCO travel warnings in their brochures and booking forms.’
TUI’s lawyer has rejected claims about its pricing strategies and that it was obliged to share FCO travel advice on its website or in its literature.
Howard Stevens, QC, acting for TUI, told a pre-inquest hearing: ‘TUI would not accept the … assertion made by Mr Ritchie in relation to pricing strategies.
‘The second is that it would not accept either the suggestion that he made, that TUI was under an obligation to refer specifically to or summarise FCO advice – in other words, the content of that advice – on its website or literature.’
Two tourists and a man stand at a memorial on the beach at the Marhaba Hotel three days after the attacks
The papers claim TUI sold travel insurance which excluded cancellation cover caused by terrorism risks, and ‘discouraged cancellation by penalising customers up to the full cost of their booked holidays if they chose to cancel as a result of learning of terrorist atrocities or risks from the FCO or elsewhere.’
After the Bardo National Museum attack the FCO warned Britons they faced an increased terrorism threat, including kidnappings, in Tunisia, and places visited by foreigners could be targeted.
The papers claim that concerns about the security situation after the attack in Tunis were discussed at a meeting attended by British officials, travel companies and Tunisian authorities.
Even though the FCO advised ‘against all but essential travel’ to Tunisia after the Sousse attack, ‘TUI were still encouraging customers to holiday in Sousse with up to 40 per cent price reductions and still making no mention of the FCO warnings’ as of last January, the papers claim.
The Tunisia Inquests, scheduled to begin on 16 January 2017 and expected to last six to eight weeks, will hear evidence from the victims’ families.
The inquests, to be heard by Judge Loraine-Smith, will look at, among other things, security measures at the beach and the five-star Riu Imperial Marhaba hotel, the emergency response, the background and preparations of gunman Seifeddine Rezgui and any accomplices, and the adequacy of the travel advice offered by the FCO and tour operators.
The latter will address what, if anything, the government, travel companies or the hotel knew about the risk of an attack on Sousse and what was done as a result.
Ritchie wrote in the papers: ‘Some customers … will say that they expressly asked TUI staff (in one case on numerous occasions) if Tunisia was safe before and after booking and were told that it was safe.’
The families represented by Ritchie are hoping through the inquest travel companies will be forced to inform their customers of relevant FCO warnings before they book.
On its website, the FCO said it has been working closely with Tunisian authorities to investigate the attack in Sousse and wider terror threat within the country.
The website states: ‘Although we have had good co-operation from the Tunisian government, including putting in place additional security measures, the intelligence and threat picture has developed considerably, reinforcing our view that a further terrorist attack is highly likely.
‘On balance, we do not believe the mitigation measures in place provide adequate protection for British tourists in Tunisia at the present time.’
MailOnline Travel has contacted Hanover-based TUI Group for comment.
TUI accused of ignoring warnings before Sousse, Tunisia, beach attack
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