Egypt and Tunisia unrest to cost Thomas Cook £20m

Image caption, The anti-government protests in Egypt have been going on for the past two weeks

8 February 2011

Travel firm Thomas Cook has warned that the political unrest in Egypt and Tunisia will knock its second-quarter profits by an estimated £20m.

It said that while the UK government's travel advice on Tunisia had improved, restrictions to Egypt were in place for all but the Red Sea resorts.

It added it was looking to mitigate the financial impact by switching its travel programme to other destinations.

The group said it was continuing to monitor the situation closely.

Protests that broke out in Tunisia in December led to the ousting of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and forced 3,000 British citizens to return home.

The uprising in Egypt, meanwhile, has prompted the Foreign Office to advise against all non-essential travel to the cities of Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor and Suez.