Further Tunisia attacks 'possible' FCO advises UK travellers

Foreign Office recommends tourists be 'especially vigilant' and follow advice of security authorities

More than 400,000 UK tourists travel to Tunisia every year and many will now be wondering whether they should cancel their trip (Getty)

The British foreign office has warned travellers to Tunisia that further attacks are possible, but drawn the line at advising tourists against making the trip.

The FCO's travel advice on Monday, unchanged since it was updated over the weekend in the wake of the attack at a resort in Sousse, was that travellers should be "especially vigilant" and follow the advice of the Tunisian authorities, and of their tour operators.

"Further terrorist attacks in Tunisia, including in tourist resorts, are possible," according to the FCO's travel advice website.

More than 400,000 UK tourists travel to Tunisia every year and many will now be wondering whether they should cancel their trip.

The advice has been in place following the massacre of 38 people in Sousse. At least 18 of those were British and three were Irish.

The FCO advises against travel to border areas with Libya and Algeria and to the Chaambi Mountain National Park where there are military operations, and recommends that travel into Tunisia's interior be undertaken only "with a reputable tour guide".

I cannot accept that Benidorm and the Dordogne share the same risk profile as a poor country that shares a long, leaky border with the failed state of Libya - where a Kalashnikov, like human life, is cheap. (Getty)

In Tunisia many tourists have been attempting to return home following the attack. Others, however, opted to stay.

Vicky Aspinall, 26, and her sister Beth, 19, and their partners Rick Roche and Lee Murrell were travelling to Tunisia for a weeks holiday when the attack occurred.

They only became aware of the situation wafter they landed and switched their phones on to find Beth had a message from her father asking if they were safe.

Beth, who was on her first holiday without her parents, said: "Everyone at home was really stressed and worried. Dad asked 'Have you reached your hotel yet?' I thought he was just being over-protective."

As the events became clearer and it turned out their hotel was close to the resort where the attack occurred, relatives asked if they were going to go home.

Insurance worker Vicky said: "The short answer to that was no. We didn't see the point - what had happened had already happened."

(Additional reporting by agencies)