LONDON: Tour operator Thomas Cook will restart holidays in Tunisia now that Britain has softened its travel advice to the country, the firm’s boss said on Thursday.
Shares rose after the company reiterated its full-year outlook, and said that demand for summer bookings was strong.
The decision to move back into Tunisia provides an opportunity for the firm to build on a rebound in appetite for holidays in the Middle East and North Africa, after years of subdued performance.
It should also be a welcome boost to Tunisia, where tourism accounts for 8 percent of gross domestic product and is a key source of foreign currency and jobs.
Britain said on Wednesday that it was no longer advising against travel to most of Tunisia after tightening its advice following a militant attack in a Tunisian resort in June 2015. There had also been an earlier attack at the Bardo museum in Tunis.
The attacks led to two years of sharp declines in tourism.
Thomas Cook Chief Executive Peter Fankhauser said that the British decision was unexpected and a positive for Tunisia and the tourism industry.
“The foreign office came to the conclusion that it is again safe to travel. We didn’t have any program for the winter so we are setting up a really good quality offer for Tunisia and this is going to take some time,” he told reporters.
“I suppose that we are going to start during the winter season, but more toward the spring.”
Tour operators such as Thomas Cook have seen business in the Middle East and North Africa suffer in recent years as security issues deterred visitors, with travel firms laying on more holidays to the western Mediterranean to compensate.
However, this year has seen a bounceback in markets such as Turkey and Egypt, while markets such as Spain have been more thorny.
Fankhauser said that a resurgence in Turkey had not been affected by increased tensions with Germany, and said that Turkey remained attractive despite a warning by the German government for its citizens to be careful when traveling there.
On the flipside, the increase in capacity in Spain is hitting margins there, and Thomas Cook said that prices were under pressure from the intense competition.
The tour operator said it had seen strong demand for summer bookings, and that winter sales so far were also encouraging. It added that its full-year operating profit would be in-line with forecasts.
Profit is expected to grow 6 percent to £326 million ($426 million) for the financial year ended Sept. 30 2017.
The travel firm said that group revenue was up 14 percent, and that winter 2017/2018 was 30 percent sold, with bookings ahead in all markets. Shares were up 3.7 percent.
Barclays said that the results were a slightly ahead of expectations, and that the reiterated guidance for the year was reassurance, even as the margin pressure in Spain continued to be a negative.
Tour operator Thomas Cook back to Tunisia after UK travel advice shifts
Tour operator Thomas Cook back to Tunisia after UK travel advice shifts
Saudi Arabia’s cultural sector is a new economic engine between Riyadh and Paris, says ambassador
RIYADH: Culture has become a fundamental pillar in bilateral relations between France and Saudi Arabia, according to the French Ambassador to the Kingdom, Patrick Maisonnave.
Maisonnave noted its connection to the entertainment and tourism sectors, which makes it a new engine for economic cooperation between Riyadh and Paris.
He told Al-Eqtisadiah during the opening ceremony of La Fabrique in the Jax district of Diriyah that cultural cooperation with Saudi Arabia is an important element for its attractiveness in the coming decades.
La Fabrique is a space dedicated to artistic creativity and cultural exchange, launched as part of a partnership between the Riyadh Art program and the French Institute in Riyadh.
Running from Jan. 22 until Feb 14, the initiative will provide an open workspace that allows artists to develop and work on their ideas within a collaborative framework.
Launching La Fabrique as a space dedicated to artistic creativity
The ambassador highlighted that the transformation journey in the Kingdom under Vision 2030 has contributed to the emergence of a new generation of young artists and creators, alongside a growing desire in Saudi society to connect with culture and to embrace what is happening globally.
He affirmed that the relationship between the two countries is “profound, even cultural par excellence,” with interest from the Saudi side in French culture, matched by increasing interest from the French public and cultural institutions unfolding in the Kingdom.
Latest estimates indicate that the culture-based economy represents about 2.3 percent of France’s gross domestic product, equivalent to more than 90 billion euros ($106.4 billion) in annual revenues, according to government data. The sector directly employs more than 600,000 people, making it one of the largest job-creating sectors in the fields of creativity, publishing, cinema, and visual arts.
Saudi Arabia benefiting from French experience in the cultural field
Maisonnave explained that France possesses established cultural institutions, while Saudi Arabia is building a strong cultural sector, which opens the door for cooperation opportunities.
This comes as an extension of the signing of 10 major cultural agreements a year ago between French and Saudi institutions, aiming to enhance cooperation and transfer French expertise and knowledge to contribute to the development of the cultural system in the Kingdom.
He added that experiences like La Fabrique provide an opportunity to meet the new generation of Saudi creators, who have expressed interest in connecting with French institutions and artists in Paris and France.
La Fabrique encompasses a space for multiple contemporary artistic practices, including performance arts, digital and interactive arts, photography, music, and cinema, while providing the public with an opportunity to witness the stages of producing artistic works and interact with the creative process.
