Operators and airlines have been urged to hold their nerve and avoid over-reacting to outbreaks of unrest in Arab countries.
The message came from the Middle East and North Africa Travel Association (MENATA) after the Foreign and Commonwealth Office lifted travel restrictions to Tunisia.
Operators plan to resume holiday flights to the country by the end of the month but packages to Egypt remain restricted to Red Seas resorts due to ongoing political unrest in the capital Cairo and other cities.
MENATA executive director Peter Lilley said: “Situations can change very quickly. It would be far better if airlines and tour operators opted to make short-term decisions based on real evidence rather than playing soothsayer and trying to predict the future.
“It doesn’t help to fly tourists home early from unaffected areas or to cancel flights to particular destinations for a whole season.
“What might initially look as being a cautionary and rational response to public unrest can very quickly come to be seen as a panicky, knee-jerk reaction which benefited no-one.”
He added: “There’s no denying that these are dramatic – and traumatic – times in the Arab world but if we really want to help countries like Tunisia and Egypt which depend enormously on income from tourists, the worst thing we can to do is to start thinking of these countries as being off-limits for months on end.
“We should also refrain from giving the impression that there is imminent trouble throughout the Arab world and that holidaymakers are best advised to boycott the whole region.
“This is a time for those involved in promoting tourism to the Arab world to hold their nerve.”