REGIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION
Tensions throughout the world remain with the
Israeli-Palestinian/Lebanon dispute, the US & NATO presence in Iraq and Afghanistan,
and terrorist incidents worldwide.
People still have various, often understandable, concerns about
travelling at the moment, and to the Middle East in particular. Please
find further information given below to cover our response to the
situation, and how it is likely to affect our holidays.
We keep in constant contact with our representatives, agents, and
staff in all the countries in which we operate our tours, as well as
with the Foreign Office here in the UK. All of this information is
used daily to help us decide how and whether to run or change a
particular tour.
When regional tensions are high, our guides and tour leaders are
instructed to contact their base office as often as possible. This
helps us to maintain a direct line of communication to our clients and
groups, so that we can act to change itineraries or cancel tours
immediately if necessary.
Regular updates are posted on our
community website when serious events occur that may affect our tours or the regions in which we operate.
Egypt
All of our Egypt and Jordan tours are running as normal at the moment, and we do not anticipate any cancellations or adjustments to itineraries in the near future.
Since the attacks in Luxor in 1997, there have been few terrorist incidents in Egypt. However, as well as in Dahab in April 2006, there were bomb attacks in Taba, close to the Israeli border, in October 2004, and also in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm al-Sheikh in July 2005.
Egypt has an efficient police force and dedicated tourist police, which is extremely focused on keeping the country calm and safe for tourists to travel there. Security arrangements are enhanced particularly at tourist sites, which all have a visible police presence. Some routes are escorted by police convoys. Most 4 and 5 star hotels have metal detectors and restricted access entrances.
We are constantly monitoring the security situation in Egypt, through our offices and staff on the ground, and will take all necessary precautions to safeguard the security of our clients.
The country remains generally safe and secure, with low levels of petty crime, and the people extremely welcoming to tourists of all nationalities.
We are therefore looking forward to running all of our Egyptian tours as normal for the foreseeable future.
However, if we receive unsettling information from our Egyptian staff & contacts, or the UK Foreign Office advises us that it is not safe for tourists to travel in Egypt, then we will cancel our tour departures and either transfer bookings to other destinations or dates, or arrange full cancellations and refunds in conjunction with your travel insurance (see our
booking conditions for more information).
Links to further useful information:
(These are detailed reviews of the current safety of tourist travel in Egypt, from the independent TourEgypt website).
Update on Egyptian Tourism
Letters from returning tourists
(These are old articles, written after September 11th 2001, but are still worth reading)
Jordan
There were 3 terrorist suicide bomb attacks on hotels in Amman on the 11th November 2005, with over 50 people, mainly Jordanians, killed. Al Qaeda groups from Iraq are believed to be behind the attacks.
We do not use the affected hotels ourselves, and none of our clients were in Amman at the time. Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected.
All of our Jordan tours and options are running as normal, and we expect that this will not need to change in the near future. As with Egypt, we continue to monitor the situation, and will take appropriate action if required.
Official travel advice from the UK Foreign Office
Current
After over a year of the interim government including the Maoist CPN, which followed 10 years or so of insurgency by Maoist rebels, Nepal's new constitution has still not been finalised. The Maoists withdrew from the government and resigned the prime-ministership in May 2009 after a heated debate over the control of the civic authorities over the army, particularly over the appointement or sacking of the army chief.
A new prime-minister has been sworn in and a new interim government is being formed, though there is fierce horse-trading between the 21 parties (out of 24, not including the Maoists) who support the new government, over who will get which ministerships and form the cabinet.
Whether this new government, without the support of the Maoists who have nearly 40% of the seats in the parliament, will be able to push through a new constitution remains to be seen.
Background (Since the insurgency erupted in 1996)
Over the past 10 years or so, tourists have still been enjoying visiting Nepal, and
we have been running most of our tours there as normal. However, this was always
against an ongoing background of an increasing number of armed clashes between
the Maoists and government forces, especially against Army and Police installations,
albeit usually in the outlying regions in the East and West of Nepal.
Tourists were not targeted directly by force, though it became increasingly
more common for trekkers to be ‘taxed’ on several of the trekking routes.
There were irregular anti-government demonstrations in Kathmandu, intermittent
curfews, and general strikes or ‘bandhs’ imposed by the Maoists, during which
nearly all travel throughout the country stopped and shops closed down.
During the last year or so, after the end of the Maoist insurgency, the country has been much more peaceful with no 'trekking taxes', though there are still problems with irregular strikes blocking roads.
As such we still strongly recommend you update yourself with the latest:
We are running all of our Nepal tours as normal at the moment, and expect to do so into the foreseeable future. The only problems we are having relate to the occasional strikes which cause delays and blocks on the roads, particularly in the lowland Terai region. When these do happen, we occasionally need to make alternative transport arrangements or adjust itineraries slightly.
India
There is continued tension in the India/Pakistan border area,
as well as the ongoing problems in Jammu and Kashmir. Parts of the north east
& eastern regions of India (particularly the India/Bangladesh border) are
also volatile and unsafe. None of our tours visit these areas however, and we
are running all of our Indian tour departures as normal.
Turkey
Current
On 28 August 2006,several explosions in the Aegean coastal
resort of Marmaris and the Mediterranean resort of Antalya resulted in a number
of casualties. Reports suggest around 50 people were injured (10 of whom were
British Nationals), and at least 3 people died. On 27th August an explosion in
the Istanbul suburb of Bagcilar (European side) left six people injured.
General
All of our Turkey tours are running as normal, and we expect
that this will not need to change in the near future. As with other countries,
where sporadic terrorist activities occurr, we will continue to monitor the
situation, and will take appropriate action if required. We strongly advise you
to seek Official travel advice before booking your tour.
Large demonstrations occur regularly in many cities and you
should avoid being caught up in them. Indiscriminate bombings are on the
increase, as worldwide tensions regarding a number of political issues are
heightened,
see above
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