Travel companies are still not doing enough to alert travellers of terror risks, and should be highlighting government travel advice about areas of the world in their brochures, the coroner of the Sousse terror victims has warned.
Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith raised concerns that travel firms were still not providing customers with enough information about terror risks in destination following the terror attack in Tunisia in 2015, which left 30 Tui British holidaymakers dead.
Tui was criticised in the inquest earlier this year for not providing customers with enough information about the potential threats facing tourists travelling to the country, including links to official government travel advice.
Loraine-Smith said in a report last week that Tui had taken steps to address this, changing "their website and promotional literature to make these logos and links more prominent" since the attack, the Telegraph reported.
However the senior judge added that he was “concerned that other companies which sell holidays, or sell flights and hotel accommodation separately, may not have taken such steps, as a result of which members of the public receive insufficient information about the risks of terrorist attacks in destination countries”.
Loraine-Smith said he had heard evidence that before the attack that travel companies did not have security advisors on their boards and that he was "concerned that if other companies do not have similar security advisors at board level then hotels which they use will not be adequately protected,” the Telegraph said.
A spokesperson for Abta insisted to the newspaper that safety was “critical” to its members.
It added: “Since the appalling attack in Sousse in 2015 there has been much greater public awareness of the global and indiscriminate nature of terrorist attacks and the role of travel advice is now more important than ever.
Abta has taken steps that address the Coroner’s recommendation for links to travel advice to be more prominently displayed.
“We have been working, and will continue to work, with our members to make sure that links to travel advice are visible on members’ websites and that customers are directed to travel advice before they book.”
A CAA spokesperson said: “We can confirm we have received a report from His Honour Judge Loraine-Smith, following his inquests into the deaths of 30 British nationals in Sousse, Tunisia.
“We are now considering the report and will respond within the time permitted.”