Travel Company TUI: Unrest Could Cost Up To $48.5M

LONDON (AP) - European tour operator TUI says unrest in Tunisia and Egypt could cost the company up to 30 million pounds (about $48.5 million.)

TUI Travel PLC said in a statement Thursday that the cost of canceling vacations and repatriating tourists from Tunisia following the overthrow of the government there was estimated at 5 million pounds.

The company says it has already scrapped trips to Egypt from Europe amid continuing violence in Cairo and other cities and that it stands to lose a further 20 million pounds if it's unable to operate tours there through the rest of the winter.

It says it could take another 5 million-pound hit if Britain advises its citizens to avoid Egypt's Red Sea resorts.

TUI Travel is a unit of Germany's TUI AG.