Britons were advised by the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, to be vigilant in Turkey and Egypt but to travel as normal, following the explosions in Kusadasi and Sharm el- Sheikh. He also encouraged overseas authorities to remind international visitors that Britain was still open for business.
Straw's advice comes even though the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website (www.fco.gov.uk) maintains that there is a high risk of terrorism in Turkey and Egypt and that further attacks cannot be ruled out.
Some British tour operators are still offering alternatives for those due to travel to Sharm el-Sheikh. Discover Egypt said British tourists were 'showing resilience' in the wake of the bombings and that the company had taken just one cancellation, though some customers were altering their Nile cruise programmes to incorporate Luxor instead of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Thomson is offering alternative destinations or full refunds until 2 August. So far, a third of people have continued to travel, a third switched destination and a third took the refund, although many of the holidays were then resold.
The long-term effects of the different attacks are difficult to discern at this stage, but Britain's tourist industry appears likely to be damaged most.
'For the immediate future the bombs will have an effect on Egypt bookings,' said Harry Helps, a spokesman for Thomson. 'They will be down for the remainder of the summer, but Egypt is quick to recover, we're hoping bookings will be back to normal for the peak winter season.'
In Turkey, trips to Kusadasi, where a minibus was bombed on 16 July, are now operating as usual, and agents say there is a low level of public concern. 'Two weeks ago no one was going to Turkey, but now sales have shot up and visitor numbers are back to normal,' said Helps.
At home, however, the future for tourism looks gloomier. Visit Britain said there had been few cancellations from foreign visitors in the short-term, but suspected autumn bookings to be affected, with serious implications for London and the rest of the UK.
Research by the Tourism Industry Emergency Response Group indicated that, following the 7 July incidents in London, spending by overseas visitors might be down 2 per cent on expectations for 2005, representing a £150 million loss to the capital. However these figures ignore the effect of the 21 July incidents, so the reality could be far worse.
