Published on : Friday, May 25, 2018
“There is a significant improvement,” Tourism Minister Selma Elloumi Rekik said, as visitor numbers got better than the first five months of 2014, largely due to rising Russian and Chinese arrivals.
The jihadist attacks of 2015 devastated Tunisia’s tourism industry, including one at the National Bardo museum in Tunis and another targeting a beach resort in Sousse that together killed 59 foreign tourists and a Tunisian guard.
Visitor arrivals surpassed 2.3 million through to May 20, up 21.8% from the same period last year and 5.7% higher than for the same period in 2010.
Sector revenues hit $357m, up 31.8% year-on-year.
“This is the year of real recovery,” said Elloumi, adding that all hotels in key tourist hotspots Djerba, Hammamet and Mahdia are full for the summer season.
The recovery is driven in part by the “traditional market”, including France and Germany, up 45% and 42% respectively, the minister said.
Visitors from China and Russia surged 57% and 46%.
“In 2018, we will surpass eight million visitors with growth from the Russian and Chinese markets as well as the traditional market,” Elloumi said.
The return of tour operators including TUI France and Britain’s Thomas Cook, which pulled out after the 2015 attacks, has also helped buoy the figures.
Tags: Tunisian Tourism