About 45 Tunisian Hotels Affected by Collapse of Thomas Cook

Shopkeepers wait for customers in front of a souvenir shop following Thomas Cook's collapse, in Hammamet, Tunisia, September 24, 2019. (Reuters)
Shopkeepers wait for customers in front of a souvenir shop following Thomas Cook's collapse, in Hammamet, Tunisia, September 24, 2019. (Reuters)
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About 45 Tunisian Hotels Affected by Collapse of Thomas Cook

Shopkeepers wait for customers in front of a souvenir shop following Thomas Cook's collapse, in Hammamet, Tunisia, September 24, 2019. (Reuters)
Shopkeepers wait for customers in front of a souvenir shop following Thomas Cook's collapse, in Hammamet, Tunisia, September 24, 2019. (Reuters)

About 45 hotels have been affected in Tunisia after the collapse of Thomas Cook, and the government will help the hotels with soft loans, Tunisia's tourism minister said on Tuesday.

Tourism is a vital sector of Tunisia’s economy and a key source of foreign exchange earnings. It accounts for around 8 percent of economic output and employs 400,000 people.

The collapse of Thomas Cook, one of Britain's oldest companies, has stranded more than half a million tourists around the world. It ran hotels, resorts and airlines for 19 million people a year in 16 countries.

Thomas Cook owes Tunisian hotels 60 million euros ($66 million) for stays in July and August, Tourism Minister Rene Trabelsi told Reuters earlier on Monday.

On Tuesday, Trabelsi held a crisis meeting with the British ambassador in Tunisia and hotel owners over Thomas Cook´s debt.

He said that the British government has pledged to pay Thomas Cook's debt but had not set a fixed term.

About 45 Tunisian hotels deal exclusively with Thomas cook.

"We have a proposal to open a line of financing of the affected hotels...we will call for ministerial council to study how we can help them," Trabelsi said.

The British government repatriated about 1,200 tourists via planes sent to Tunisa’s Enfidha airport, and another 4,000 still in Tunisia will return after their holidays.

Tunisia had expected to receive a record 9 million tourists by the end of 2019, up from 8 million last year.



Indonesia, Singapore Sign Deals on Power Trade, Carbon Capture 

Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia speaks to the media during a press conference at the presidential palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP) 
Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia speaks to the media during a press conference at the presidential palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP) 
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Indonesia, Singapore Sign Deals on Power Trade, Carbon Capture 

Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia speaks to the media during a press conference at the presidential palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP) 
Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia speaks to the media during a press conference at the presidential palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP) 

Indonesia and Singapore signed initial deals on Friday to develop cross-border trade in low carbon electricity and collaborate on carbon capture and storage, ministers from both countries said in Jakarta.

The electricity deal reaffirmed an earlier agreement to export solar power from Indonesia to Singapore, with a group of companies planning to build plants and grid infrastructure to generate and transmit the power.

The memorandum of understanding signed by the two countries says they will aim to draw up policies, regulatory frameworks and business arrangements that will enable Indonesian power to be delivered to Singapore.

Indonesia expects to export 3.4 gigawatts of low-carbon power by 2035, according to a presentation slide shown by Indonesia's energy minister Bahlil Lahadalia.

In another MoU, the two countries said they would look into drawing up a legally binding agreement for carbon capture and storage that would allow cross-border projects to go ahead.

If successful, it will be the first such project in Asia, said Singapore government minister Tan See Leng.

Energy firms BP, ExxonMobil, and Indonesia's state company Pertamina are already developing CCS projects in Indonesia.

With its depleted oil and gas reservoirs and saline aquifers capable of storing hundreds of gigatons of CO2, Indonesia has allowed CCS operators to set aside 30% of their storage capacity for carbon captured in other countries.

The two countries also signed a deal for the development of sustainable industrial zones on several Indonesian islands near Singapore, including Batam, Bintan and Karimun.

Bahlil said the deals could bring in more than $10 billion of investment from the manufacturing of solar panels, the development of CCS projects and potential investment in industrial estates.