Airlines, tour operators and hotel companies are allowing guests to rebook or cancel trips to Nice free of charge after a terrorist driving a truck mowed down Bastille Day revelers in the French coastal town, killing at least 84.
The attack on Nice’s seaside Promenade des Anglais deals a fresh blow to Europe’s travel industry, which is already reeling from a recent string of terrorist incidents, Bloomberg reported.
Many European vacationers are shunning Tunisia, Egypt and Turkey because of violence and concerns about security, while high-spending overseas travellers from Asia and the Americas have been deterred by attacks in Paris in November and Brussels in March.
Thursday’s deaths on the French Riviera threaten further disruption.
“France was just bouncing back from the Paris attacks,” Wouter Geerts, a travel analyst at Euromonitor International in London told Bloomberg. “This will definitely have an impact on travel, and on how people perceive the wider safety of France.”
Nice may take longer to rebound than Paris, which is more iconic and therefore more resilient, he said.
Marriott International is allowing free cancellations at its five hotels on the French Riviera.
EasyJet, the biggest carrier at Nice’s airport with 529 weekly flights, will allow passengers slated to fly this weekend to get a refund or change dates for free. While schedules operate as normal, airlines including Air France and Deutsche Lufthansa AG said they’ll also waive rebooking fees temporarily.
TUI AG, Europe’s largest tour operator, said clients with plans to travel to Nice through July 31 can rebook at no extra cost.