Brits are holidaying in Tunisia against strict Government advice - leaving glowing reviews on TripAdvisor despite the country’s ‘state of emergency’.
Flights to resorts in the north African country have been banned since 30 Britons were massacred by an Islamic State extremist in 2015.
Official guidance from the Foreign Office describes a high risk of terror attacks. Yet UK holiday makers are ignoring that advice, many taking cheap flights from France and Germany - where travel bans are not in place.
Many may not be covered by insurance polices as a result of the official advice not to travel.
But rooms in four and five-star hotels can be booked for as little as £35-a-night. Flights to the capital Tunis are still running from Heathrow for ‘essential’ travel such as business trips.
More than 440,000 British tourists travelled annually to Tunisian beaches and archeological sites before the Sousse attack.
But in the immediate aftermath, there was a 90 per cent fall in visitors from the UK, with major tour operators reluctant to offer holidays.
An appeal to the Lords for the UK to change its travel advice was rejected last year. One traveller from Gainsborough in Lincolnshire holidayed at the four-star Hotel Marahaba Beach, close to where Tunisian gunman Seifeddine Rezgui killed 38 tourists.
She revealed that she had stayed twice in the last two years, rating security ‘first class’.
She added: “It was great to be able to return again to Marhaba Beach hotel, in October 2016 and again in March 2017, after an absence of almost 16 months.
“I have had numerous holidays here over the past 18 years and am happy to say it has still retained its lovely welcoming atmosphere. The refurbishments to date are such a vast improvement.
"The people are very friendly and security is first class. I can strongly recommend Marhaba Beach for a lovely relaxing holiday in beautiful surroundings.”
Another tourist from Halifax, West Yorks, who stayed at the Hannibal Palace, a short drive from the scene of the carnage, wrote: ‘As a single traveller, I enjoyed my stay immensely.’
But the Foreign and Commonwealth Office still carries strongly-worded guidance against visiting Tunisia, which shares a border with ISIS stronghold Libya.
The FCO says: "A state of emergency is in effect in Tunisia, imposed after a suicide attack on a police bus on 24 November 2015.
"It has been extended a number of times, most recently on 14 June 2017 by 4 months. Terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Tunisia.
"Security forces remain on a high state of alert in Tunis and other places. You should be vigilant at all times, including around religious sites and festivals."
A Brit from Exeter stayed further up the coast at the Sentido Phenicia and revealed: “Excellent welcome back when I visited the end of March. Nothing had changed it was like coming home.”
Other visitors from London were planning to return this year, revealing: “We have visited Sentido Phenicia twice before and are returning for the 3rd time this Summer. We cannot wait.”
The 2015 attack devastated tourism in Tunisia, with a huge fall in the number of visitors.
Last year, Tunisia’s interior minister urged British tourists and expressed hopes the UK will review its travel advice, saying it is no more threatened by terrorism than any major European city.
Hédi Majdoub said: “We are not saying to Europeans: ‘Please come to Tunisia; there are no threats.’ There are threats, as there are all round the world. But we are ready to cooperate continuously on any security issue to assure the British, and build their confidence in us.”