Due to general unrest, UK bookings to destinations such as Egypt, Tunisia and Turkey went down up to 50 per cent this year

As figures suggest, the constant terrorist threats and refugee crisis led to a significant decrease in the tourism of north Africa and the near east.

According to the latest data released by the Office for National Statistics and backed up by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the numbers of British citizens travelling to Egypt, Tunisia and Turkey have seriously declined.

Moreover, the recent crash of an EgyptAir passenger plane in strange circumstances likely contributes to the general security-related opinions over the area. According to Sean Tipton's opinion, the spokesman of the Association of British Travel Agents (Abta), the fall in bookings to Egypt could also be easily explained when considering the safety of Sharm el-Sheikh airport.

Beginning with the 2011 revolution in Egypt, visits by UK nationals to the country have dropped by nearly 50 per cent, the ONS data shows. Similarly, tourists spendings here have decreased by 4%.

Tunisia, on the other hand, has suffered the most dramatic impact of terrorism on tourism, after the 2010 Arab spring, the armed attack on a popular beach last June and the massacre of 22 people in a museum last year. Visits by nationals from UK fell by nearly 40% in 2015, while total foreign spendings dropped by 37%.

Turkey is visibly affected by the civil war in Syria and the refugee crisis that also hit Europe. Bookings for Turkish holidays went down by almost a third, when compared to last year.

“We’ve seen a marked shift towards the western Mediterranean. That’s been the case since December really, that’s what the booking patterns have shown,” Tipton commented.

Nevertheless, there are countries that show big gains from the tense situation in north Africa and the near east. Countries like Portugal, Spain, Italy, Barbados, Mexico and Morocco are seen as “tourist destinations nowhere near the trouble zones” with low levels of terrorist threat and are starting to welcome more tourists, as the general unrest in Egypt, Tunisia and Turkey continues.