TUNIS, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Tunisian Minister of Tourism and Handicraft Rene Trabelsi on Tuesday announced that British authorities will create a fund to settle the debts of tour operator Thomas Cook with Tunisian hotels.
He told a conference in Tunis that the British side has appointed two administrators as the interlocutors with Tunisian hotels, official TAP news agency reported.
The minister said that, according to Tunisian Hotel Federation, the delayed repayments to Tunisian hotels amount to 220 million Tunisian dinars (77 million U.S. dollars).
About 40 Tunisian hotels are affected by the bankruptcy of Thomas Cook, he said.
Trabelsi mentioned that Tunisian and British sides intend to discuss the possibility of entrusting Thomas Cook's bookings in Tunisia for the months of October and November to other competing tour operators.
The Ministry of Tourism and Handicraft has called for an exceptional ministerial council to discuss ways to help Tunisian hotels affected by the bankruptcy of the tour operator.
The minister stressed that British authorities would ensure the return of all British tourists once their stay is over. Some 4,500 British tourists are staying in Tunisia right now.
Tunisia receives an average annual 150,000 tourists via Thomas Cook from 10 European countries.
Thomas Cook was one of the oldest travel agencies in the world. Its bankruptcy was announced earlier this week, which forced the British authorities to mobilize to repatriate its customers.
