Aito calls for balanced reporting of Med travel safety in mainstream media

Aito is urging the mainstream media to maintain balance when reporting foreign office updates to popular Mediterranean destinations following a series of “inaccurate portrayals”.

The association said the vast majority of Mediterranean destinations “remain entirely safe, stable and welcoming to UK tourists” and are “expected to do so for the foreseeable future”.

Aito felt compelled to issue the plea after numerous “incorrect and sensationalist” ‘urgent’ travel alerts suggested Greece and Turkey were no longer safe to visit because of the Iran war.

It pointed to the fact the FCDO’s current guidance states the situation in Greece remains stable, with no travel warnings in place for the mainland or islands.

In Turkey, the main tourist hubs including Istanbul, Antalya, Dalaman, and Bodrum remain fully accessible, with current guidance primarily relating to areas not typically frequented by tourists near to the border with Syria.

Visitors to the country are advised to exercise “increased caution” common to most major global destinations, but there is no do not travel advice for the country’s popular holiday regions.

Aito is concerned that “sensationalist reporting” of FCDO warnings creates unnecessary alarm about potentially invalidating travel insurance and deterring families from taking holidays, including many that have already been booked.

Martyn Sumners, executive director of Aito, said: “Our specialist tour operator members are in constant contact with their local teams in Greece and Turkey. The reality on the ground bears absolutely no relation whatsoever to the narratives seen in some areas of the media in recent days.

“We urge travellers to look beyond the headlines and consult both our members and the FCDO website directly, where they will see that Greece and the Turkish coast, as well as many other areas that have been included in the headlines, remain as safe, welcoming and beautiful as ever.”

Stefanos Chronopoulos, managing director of Greek specialist Ionian & Aegean Island Holidays, added: “Unfortunately, the damage caused by such reporting is immediate and very real.

“As a tour operator specialising exclusively in Greece, we have already seen the consequences, including potential customers hesitating to book and several existing guests contacting us requesting to cancel their holidays.”