The president of the Tunisian Federation of Travel Agencies, Ahmed Bellatif, confirmed that Tunisia had recovered more than 30% of reservations from its traditional markets and was the first destination for tourists from France, Germany and England, in more to attract high bookings from Eastern European countries.
Latif said the island of Djerba is the most popular destination for European tourists, followed by the cities of Sousse and Monastir, then Hammamet, Mahdia and the capital’s Gammarth region.
The head of the University of Travel Agencies said, in statements to Sky News Arabia, that “indicators recorded up to mid-May point to an excellent tourist season which exceeds the season of the benchmark tourist year 2019 , i.e. before the Corona pandemic, “noting that tourism workers are optimistic about the upward trend in bookings which continues after the summer and until November 15, marking a new concession for the sector that the tourist season is no longer limited to the summer months alone.
Bellatif pointed out that Tunisia has been working for three years to diversify the tourist product and not limit itself to seaside tourism by developing cultural, marine and desert tourist services, which still need more time to be promoted.
It should be noted that the revenues of the tourism sector in Tunisia during the first quarter of this year exceeded one billion dinars (about 326.7 million dollars), according to data issued by the Central Bank, so that the Tunisian tourism recorded a revenue growth of 60 percent compared to the same period last year, which saw an influx of 6.4 million tourists, with revenues of 4.2 billion Tunisian dinars, and the economists considered it proof of the start of tourism recovery after difficult years left by the Corona epidemic crisis and exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, which caused Tunisia to lose half a million Russian tourists.
For his part, the representative of tourism in the southern city of Hammamet, Khaled Kalouiya, described the number of hotel reservations registered until May 10 as outstanding, stressing that “Hammamet has recorded an increase in the number of arrivals estimated at 20% compared to the same period last year, in addition to a clear return to the European market.”
He added that the tourism indicators recorded in Tunisia after the Djerba synagogue incident confirm that there are no cancellations of hotel and travel agency reservations in different tourist cities.
On May 9, the island of Djerba, the most important tourist resort in southern Tunisia, witnessed a criminal incident that targeted a synagogue, causing deaths and injuries.
For his part, the tourism delegate in the governorates of Sousse and Monastir, Tawfiq Al-Qayed, confirmed in an interview with “Sky News Arabia” that their preparations to secure the summer tourist season and ensure the quality of services are beating their full with the objective of succeeding in the season they have been preparing for since last December.
“Summer bookings are excellent, and we have even started preparing for the winter season,” Al-Qayed said.
Tourism in Tunisia is a direct source of livelihood for over half a million citizens and their indirect weakness, it is also the most important source of hard currency for the country after expatriate remittances and a major tributary of the country’s economy.
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