Terror threat does not deter Balearic holidaymakers

PALMA
TRAVEL agents around the Islands are reporting that there have been no cancellations of holidays to what are now considered to be “areas of tourist risk”.

Mateu Pou, president of the Association of Balearic Travel Agents (AVIBA) confirmed yesterday that nevertheless, following a terrorist attack in Yemen last Monday in which seven Spanish tourists and two Yemenis were killed, it is “understandable” that people are not going to pursue outward bound holidays in areas which are now clearly marked as “high risk”.

He added that this type of holiday is, in any event, of limited popularity among the Balearic community.
Speaking to the Press yesterday, Pou said that Yemen and other countries in the Middle East were not high on the agenda of Spaniards holidaying abroad and as a consequence, there has been no impact on bookings made in the Balearics.

He said that as terrorist attacks around the globe were unpredictable, it was impossible to know with certainty which countries constituted a serious threat in terms of safety.

Even states in Europe are vulnerable to such scourges as has been shown in the recent past.
It is significant, Pou asserted, that neither have there been any cancellations in flights to London, a city which over the last few days has yet again come under terrorist threat. “London isn't a major holiday destination for people from the Islands, but it is more popular than Arab countries,” he added.

The president explained that agencies which organise journeys to countries where there is a registered element of “risk” to travellers are highly specialised and professional.

He pointed out that in the fifteen years which the travel company Banoa (organiser of the fateful Yemen trip) had been arranging overseas excursions, it was the first time that anything of this tragic nature had occurred. “The people who work professionally in putting these trips together for holidaymakers are experts in their own field and have thorough knowledge of the regions in question. Security is of the highest importance to them and they plan tourist movements taking every conceivable precaution.”