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Hotel staff dress up as terrorists in Turkey in 'joke' poolside entertainment Hotel defends staff over 'terrorist poolside show' after complaints it reminds tourists of Tunisia attack
(about 2 hours later)
Hotel workers staged a fake terror attack on British tourists in a Turkish resort as part of a “joke” only months after almost 40 tourists were killed in a terror attack in Tunisia. A Turkish hotel has defended an event labelled “disgusting” by British tourists who claimed it reminded them of the Tunisia massacre.
Tourists staying at the Grand Yazici Mares hotel, Icmeler, were shocked when men apparently carrying large guns and cans of fuel appeared at the side of the pool and accosted sunbathing holidaymakers. Holidaymakers staying at the Grand Yazici Mares hotel, Icmeler, said they were shocked when men apparently carrying large guns and cans of fuel appeared at the side of the pool and accosted sunbathing holidaymakers.
“I looked around and saw Arab-looking guys stalking around and above the pool carrying big guns,” Jason Phythian, from Fallowfield outside Greater Manchester, told The Sun. However, a hotel spokesperson told The Independent that “nothing happened” to the holidaymakers during a “Hollywood themed show” they said also featured an “Arab Knight and Rambo, as well as cowboys.”
“Other holiday makers really panicked. It was completely out of control,” the 43-year-old electrician, on holiday with his family, said about the incident which saw one hotel worker pour ‘fuel’ over his body before flicking a lighter. Jason Phythian, from Fallowfield, Greater Manchester, had claimed hotel staff “thought it was funny to run around the pool dressed as terrorists”.
Worried holidaymakers – among them Mr Phythian – were told the stunt, which took place last month, was a “joke” and part of a “Hollywood-themed poolside show” staged every year by management. Jet2Holidays, who Mr Phythian’s family booked their holiday with, apologised for the family’s negative experience but told The Independent they had not received a single complaint from their customers over the incident.
“They thought it was funny to run around the pool dressed as terrorists,” he continued. “The hotel management now understands that some of the costumes may have caused offence and they will no longer use these in their shows,” they said in a statement to The Independent.
Mr Phythian claimed “it was an absolutely disgusting to try and make light of Tunisia in that way,” and that his sister Dawn, who had worried about a similar-style Tunisian attack, was terrified throughout. Mr Phythian described the incident which saw one hotel worker pour ‘fuel’ over his body before flicking a lighter and said: “I looked around and saw Arab-looking guys stalking around and above the pool carrying big guns.
Jet2Holidays, who the Phythian family booked their holiday with, also apologised for the incident at the holiday which they claimed was a “Hollywood themed poolside show”. “Other holiday makers really panicked. It was completely out of control,” the 43-year-old electrician, on holiday with his family, told The Sun.
“The hotel management now understands that some of the costumes may have caused offense and they will no longer use these in their shows,” a statement to the MailOnline added. Holidaymakers – among them Mr Phythian – were told the stunt, which took place last month, was a “joke” and part of a “Hollywood-themed poolside show” staged every year by management.
A spokesperson for the hotel, located to the west of Turkey on the Dalmatian coast, also apologised for the incident.   Mr Phythian claimed “it was an absolutely disgusting to try and make light of Tunisia in that way,” and that his sister Dawn Sutton, who had worried about a similar-style Tunisian attack, was terrified throughout.