I was extremely sad to be writing about terrorism in my editor’s comment last week. The fact that I am doing so again, following more atrocities, is both distressing and disturbing.
After much speculation, it was confirmed this week that an act of terror did, indeed, bring down the Russian A321 flight from Sharm el-Sheikh, killing everyone on board.
The news came just days after the world watched in horror as terrorists murdered at least 129 innocent people as they relaxed on a Friday night in the heart of Paris – the most popular city-break destination for Brits.
For the second consecutive week, we’ve had to write special reports on the impact terrorism is having on the travel industry. And it wasn’t all that long ago that we were covering the massacre of 38 tourists in Tunisia and the Bangkok bombing.
Usually, we comment on the resolve of the British public, their resilience in the face of such brutality and their defiance to continue travelling, so as not to allow the terrorists to ‘win’. But have we now reached a watershed moment – at least in the short-term?
Former Federation of Tour Operators and Abta director Andy Cooper believes that Britons are not as resilient as they once were, and expects to see two groups develop – those too frightened to leave home and those still determined to ‘live their lives’.
Safety should always be paramount. But for the sake of all those in the UK and overseas who are dependent on travel for their livelihoods, let’s hope it is the latter group of people that still forms the majority.