Holiday companies are cancelling trips to Sri Lanka and offering tourists full refunds or alternative holidays after the Foreign Office advised against all holiday and non-essential travel until further notice.

The warning was strengthened at the end of the week from the earlier advice to postpone holiday plans which came in the aftermath of a dawn attack on Colombo airport by Tamil Tiger rebels . Some 47 Britons were caught up in the attack in which at least 18 people were killed.

Kuoni, which carries the majority of British tourists to Sri Lanka, said it had cancelled all tours until the end of August and was offering refunds or alternative holidays to tourists.

Other tour operators, such as specialist operators Elite Vacations and Somak Holidays, said they were offering refunds and cancellations for all future bookings, though clients could postpone their trips if they wanted. Cox & King's however said refunds were only available for holidays booked before 1 September - clients booked after that date could only opt for an alternative holiday. The Association of British Travel Agents said it was advising holiday companies to repatriate tourists already in Sri Lanka as soon as possible, refunding them on a pro rata basis for the days holiday they had missed.