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Campaign uses London 7/7 bombing image as it urges tourists to support Tunisia

Other photographs used show the 9/11 attacks in New York and one representing the Charlie Hebdo killings in Paris

Alexander Sehmer
Sunday 05 July 2015 01:56 BST
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Selim Ben Hadj Yahia, managing director of RamDam Agency, said he created the campaign in the wake of 'the shock and sadness' of the Sousse attack
Selim Ben Hadj Yahia, managing director of RamDam Agency, said he created the campaign in the wake of 'the shock and sadness' of the Sousse attack (Selim Ben Hadj Yahia (via Facebook))

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A provocative advertising campaign featuring images of terror attacks in Western capitals urges tourists not to abandon Tunisia in the wake of its own terror attack.

The campaign, launched by a Tunisian communications firm, asks "would you stop visiting" alongside images of London during the 7/7 bombings, New York during the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Centre and a placard signifying the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris.

A caption reads "Support Tunisia, land of peace".

The campaign urges tourists not to abandon Tunisia (Image: Selim Ben Hadj Yahia, via Facebook)
The campaign urges tourists not to abandon Tunisia (Image: Selim Ben Hadj Yahia, via Facebook) (Selim Ben Hadj Yahia (via Facebook))

Tunisia suffered its own terror attack just over a week ago when an Islamist gunman opened fire on tourists at a beach resort in Sousse, killing 39 people.

Selim Ben Hadj Yahia posted the campaign images on Facebook saying he created them in the wake of "the shock and sadness" of the Sousse attack, and that he hoped they spoke to "Tunisia's friends around the world".

The campaign has been praised by some, but criticised by others who said the attack in Sousse was different as it targeted tourists.

The images have been both praised and criticised (Image: Selim Ben Hadj Yahia, via Facebook)
The images have been both praised and criticised (Image: Selim Ben Hadj Yahia, via Facebook) (Selim Ben Hadj Yahia (via Facebook))

Tourism is an important part of the Tunisian economy, contributing about 7 per cent of Tunisia's GDP.

The industry nearly ground to a halt in the wake of the revolution that toppled Tunisia's former president Zine El Abideine Ben Ali in 2011 and sparked the region's so-called Arab Spring, but it picked up quickly in the following years.

In 2014 nearly 425,000 British tourists travelled to Tunisia.

Thirty of the 38 people killed in the Sousse attack were British holidaymakers.

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