The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) has confirmed that the Egyptian military has been stationed outside the entrance of Sharm el-Sheikh and the exit of Dahab in South Sinai.
There is also a military presence at the nearby airport, prompting further worries that the FCO should change its security stance.
The warning went on to outline the violence that occurred in Hurghada last week and that there was a “high threat from terrorism”.
Countries including Russia, Germany, USA, Sweden and Finland have now all issued advice warning against travel to the country, reported the Daily Mail.
However the UK government has so far resisted pressure to change its travel advice, meaning that tour operators have no requirement to refund customers.
As reported last week in Travel Daily UK, around 40,000 UK national are in the country, with the Daily Telegraph quoting Brits who were unhappy with government and their holiday company:
We continue to follow developments carefully & keep @FCOtravel advice under continuous review. #Egypt travel advice: http://t.co/PgrlxMxr0v
— Foreign Office ?? (@foreignoffice) August 20, 2013
Pam Clarke, from Tamworth, Staffordshire, said: “I am angry with Thomas Cook as my son Liam and his fiancee Kayleigh are due to fly to Hurghada on September 10 and for the last three weeks have been trying to change destination due to the unrest in Egypt. The have been fobbed off by Thomas Cook continually.”
Since the story was posted we have received comments from travellers saying how unhappy they are:
We were told at the time of booking that if trouble erupted, and it was unsafe to travel, that we would be offered a refund or a different destination. We are now stuck between a rock and hard place, as we can’t afford to throw away GBP2,000, but don’t want to go on a ‘holiday’ where there is so much violence and risk! I’ve been on the phone to Thomas Cook about this and have also been fobbed off. It all boils down to money I suppose. We feel pretty helpless! Travel Daily commentator Shasax
Many are now reporting that Egyptian sales are going to take an expected downturn – after having only just started to increase before the recent protests began.
To read Travel Daily’s recent blog post series, written while in the country, please click here.
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