Due to a lack of tourists, more and more Tunisian hotels are turning into nursing homes and trying to attract Swiss seniors. For a price three times cheaper than in Switzerland, these establishments offer personalized “top-of-the-range” services. The Swiss Radio and Television (RTS) went to visit these residences of a new kind.
In Hammamet, a seaside resort in eastern Tunisia, the Russelior is one of the city’s 160 hotels. Rated 5 stars, the establishment has 220 rooms. It has been partly transformed into an EMS to accommodate the elderly. In total, 24 rooms are dedicated to them and form one of the Carthagea residences.
“We don’t realize at all that it’s a retirement home,” notes Christiane, an 85-year-old Genevan who came to visit her ex-husband, who lives in the hotel.
Challenged by this new type of establishment, she wanted to make sure for herself of the conditions in which her ex-spouse lives, suffering from cognitive disorders which require daily assistance.
Personalized services
At the Russelior, as in other Tunisian establishments of the same type, each resident is accompanied from morning to evening by a member of the appointed staff.
These residences, created six years ago, mainly accommodate elderly people with neurological disorders, who are followed by specialists. The hotel rooms are fitted out for the needs of each resident, according to their medical records.
This personalized offer, uncommon in Europe, appeals to seniors and their families. A dozen Swiss families have already placed their parents in these Tunisian EMS, where tourists rub shoulders with residents at lunchtime.
Cameras have also been placed in the rooms to allow families to see their loved ones live, via an application. A technology which, according to the commercial director of the Théophile Cormillot establishment, reassures the entourage.
Compensate for hotel desertion
If some people are tempted by this type of establishment in Tunisia, local hoteliers also find their account. In the country, many hotels have been abandoned by customers following various crises, including the revolution and the attacks of 2015.
This situation has prompted businessmen to develop residences like those in Carthagea. “Hotels have an occupancy rate over the year of less than 50%, or even close to 30%. The idea was to offer win-win partnerships with hoteliers, guaranteeing a linear annual occupancy rate”, explains its CEO Alexandre Canabal.
Added to this is a labor cost “three to four times cheaper” than in Europe. “If the employees were paid under the European system, we would have to sell a service at 15,000 or 20,000 euros per month. That would be impossible”, also underlines the boss.
A new Swiss market
Recently, retirees from Switzerland, where EMS are very expensive, have been particularly targeted by these Tunisian establishments. Carthagea prides itself in particular on offering “top-of-the-range” services for a monthly amount that is significantly lower than the standards of Swiss retirement homes.
Residents of these institutions pay on average between 1800 and 2300 euros per month, depending on their dependency, while benefiting from personalized follow-up. “Here, a place [in residence] with care and catering corresponds to a quarter of the price of what one would pay in Switzerland”, testifies Werner Amsler, a boarder from Zug, with his wife suffering from Alzheimer’s, a residence in the port city of Sousse.
Many senior couples choose these Tunisian EMS. They can continue to live there together, even if only one person is dependent on assistance. The seaside setting also allows them to enjoy the Mediterranean Sea.
Swiss nationals living outside the European Union lose their basic insurance. But now, following agreements with Switzerland, they can subscribe to the Caisse des Français Abroad (CFE) and thus be insured in Tunisia, particularly in the event of hospitalization. For Alexandre Canabal, this is a “great step forward, which will help develop the Swiss market”. This novelty also pleases other service providers. Some wish to push the concept of Tunisian EMS even further and compensate for the lack of suitable structures in France, Belgium or Switzerland.
