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Thomas Cook poised to restart Tunisia operations

Thomas Cook confirmed the resumption of holidays and flights to Tunisia from the UK next week.

The programme starts on February 13 with three flights a week to Enfidha from Manchester, Gatwick and Birmingham.

Departures from Glasgow will be added from April and Newcastle and Stansted in May.

The decision was taken to put the destination back on sale after the UK government changed its advice for Tunisia meaning that British holidaymakers can now travel to the majority of the country, according to the  operator.

Thirty British holidaymakers and three Irish travellers were among those killed in a terrorist massacre on the beach at Port El Kantaoui near Sousse in June 2015 and a state of emergency still exists in the country.

Latest Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice states that the Tunisian government has improved protective security in major cities and tourist resorts.

“But terrorists are still very likely to try to carry out attacks in Tunisia,” the FCO adds, saying that British tourists “should be vigilant at all times”.

Re-launching holidays to the North African country also reflects customer demand, according to Thomas Cook. Since going on sale in August, Tunisia has proved popular with the first three flights selling out.

Ten hotels are featured, in the historic resort of Hammamet and newer Yasmine Hammamet along the north-east coast, as well as Skanes.

The number of properties available will increase to 14 for the summer to include the resort of Mahdia.

The hotels on offer include three Thomas Cook own brand SENTIDO hotels – SENTIDO Phenicia, SENTIDO Le Sultan and SENTIDO Aziza Beach Golf & Spa.

Thomas Cook UK managing director Chris Mottershead said: “Tunisia has been a popular tourist destination for decades and with our first three flights sold out, there is an appetite from our customers.

“Its soft, long beaches, year-round sun, historic ruins and tasty local food mean it attracts lots of loyal visitors, as well as those visiting for the first time. Tunisia is once again proving to be a popular choice for a value for money holiday.”

Holidaymakers can take a range of excursions covering Tunisia’s Roman heritage including Carthage and El Djem.

A leading City broker gave an upbeat assessment of Thomas Cook ahead of the group’s latest quarterly trading update due to be issued tomorrow (Thursday).

Numis said the company was back on a path for sustained growth and its market share had grown for the first time in five years, supported by strong growth from the UK.

There were indications that the growth in bookings for summer holidays to Turkey and Egypt had sustained momentum into the January peaks period, which should support further makrte share growth in 2018.

Numis was also optimistic about the chances of further improvements in Thomas Cook’s offering to customers, The Times reported.

“Despite a myriad of strong headwinds threatening to destabilise the business over the last two years, the group’s strategy has been well executed, as it continues to focus on a) improving the quality of its hotel portfolio, customer service and online proposition and b) lowering the cost of supply as it shifts away from its ‘complementary’ product,” analysts said.

They forecast earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of £580.1 million this year, £625.6 million next and £666.2 million in 2020, with pre-tax profits of £216.3 million in 2018, £262.4 million in 2019 and £298 million the following year.

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