SOME holidaymakers who have booked a summer visit to Egypt are thinking twice about their trips.

Numerous tourists from York and North Yorkshire have been frantically trying to arrange last-minute changes to avoid the country in the wake of the weekend's bomb attacks in Sharm el-Sheikh.

Paul Smith, director of Quartz Travel, Heworth Road, York, said he had taken a number of calls from clients desperate to change.

He said: "We have got passengers due to go to Egypt within the week, and we just don't know where to send them.

"The operators have been very supportive, and we will find them alternative holidays, but it will be down to the last minute."

He said one group due to fly out to Egypt today were now going to the Balearics instead.

But some travellers are determined not to let the attacks put them off visiting the Red Sea area.

Graham Harris, proprietor of Travel Options, in Patrick Pool, York, said: "A few days ago, just before the bombs, a couple came in asking us to book them a few nights in Cairo and then a trip on to Sharm el-Sheikh. When I came in on Monday morning I was sure they would come in and ask to go somewhere else, but they didn't.

"In the end they did ring us up - to confirm that they would definitely be able to go in spite of the bombs."

Many York travel agents spoke of anxious moments checking to make sure none of their customers had been caught up in the terrorist attacks - but none of them did.

Nicky Traynor of NYS Travel said: "Thankfully, we didn't have anyone in Egypt at the time - although it could easily have been very different.

"One member of staff had planned a holiday in Egypt, but she cancelled beforehand for personal reasons. If she hadn't she would have been there when the bombs went off."

Meanwhile, York's tourism chiefs are preparing for a possible downturn in overseas visitors coming to the region in the wake of the London attacks.

Gillian Cruddas, chief executive of York Tourism Bureau, said: "York tends to mirror what happens in London and the other historic cities, so there could be a knock-on effect from the bombs in the capital.

"We haven't noticed a downturn at the moment, but we are keeping a very close eye on it. While there could be a downturn in overseas tourists, the number of British visitors might increase. We have already had two conferences that have arranged to come to York rather than go to London. Many people in Yorkshire will be keen to stay closer to home."

Updated: 09:58 Tuesday, July 26, 2005