Tunisian tourism has been faced with successive crises, especially after the coronavirus pandemic, which has impacted its performance and competitiveness.
This observation prompted the Ministry of Tourism to put in place a new strategy to conquer promising markets and diversify the Tunisian offer, indicated the Minister of Tourism and Handicrafts, Mohamed El Moez Belhassine in an interview with TAP agency.
The Department of Tourism is preparing to create “a higher council for tourism”, as a coordination mechanism with the other ministries involved in this sector. Similarly, a “tourism code” will unify the legislative framework and boost tourism investment.
It will also launch a “tourism satellite account” to assess the real contribution of the tourism sector to the national economy. It also plans to put in place a new system for reviewing the classification of hotels, before the end of 2023, with a view to improving the quality of services.
You said that 5.4 million tourists visited Tunisia as of August 10, 2023, which has increased tourism receipts, what is your assessment of the situation?
The actual tourism receipts are double the announced figure, which requires the establishment of a new statistical system for the tourism sector, allowing to assess the real contribution of the tourism sector in the economy.
The recorded tourist receipts, estimated at 3.8 billion dinars, until the end of July 2023, do not represent the true value of the contribution of this sector in the national economy, since this figure does not take into account the expenses for medical care for tourists, cruises, purchases of handicrafts, shopping and also travel within the country, especially for those traveling alone.
This is why the Ministry is working to set up a new statistical system, namely “a satellite account”, in accordance with the recommendations of the World Tourism Organization, in order to measure the weight of tourism in the economy and its role in covering the deficit and bringing foreign currencies into the country.
The satellite account includes 10 indicators including employment in the sector, investment and the number of tourists…., whereas the current statistical system is limited to the number of arrivals (from the General Directorate of Border Police and Foreigners ), tourism receipts (BCT) and overnight stays in hotels (ONTT).
The Ministry has started the development of a survey on tourist expenditure in Tunisia, as a first step for the establishment of the “Satellite Account” in Tunisia. This survey, carried out by the ONTT in collaboration with the various intervening structures including the National Institute of Statistics (INS) and the Ministry of the Interior, should be completed by the end of 2023.
What new measures does the Ministry of Tourism plan to take to develop Tunisia’s tourist attractiveness?
A higher council for tourism will be created soon. Chaired by the head of government, it will be made up of the ministers concerned by the sector. This structure will be responsible for coordinating between the various stakeholders, with a view to establishing policies as well as national strategies to develop the sector and monitoring their execution. The promotion of the tourism sector is a common responsibility which involves the efforts of the different ministries (transport, health, industry, agriculture, etc.), in order to meet certain challenges linked in particular to water shortages, energy management or even the safety of tourists. It should be recalled that the High Council for Tourism was initially launched in 2003 to be dissolved in 2010.
Does the Ministry of Tourism intend to review the legislative framework governing the sector, at a time when the latter is still suffering from the consequences linked to the Covid-19 pandemic?
The ministry has begun to collect the various legal texts organizing the sector. The objective is to group them in the “tourism code” which will serve as a legal framework for the sector. It will also facilitate procedures and procedures for Tunisian and foreign investors and thus promote the creation of projects in the area. In addition, the ministry is working to revise certain laws, including those relating to the classification of tourist establishments, in order to harmonize the various legal texts.
This structuring project, which includes professionals in the sector, intends to unify the laws governing the sector. It will allow Tunisia to adapt to the requirements of international competition. This code also meets the objectives of the tourism development strategy by 2035, in order to make it a responsible and sustainable sector. This text will be ready towards the end of 2024 and will then be adopted by Parliament.
What are the main specificities of the sectoral tourism strategy for 2035?
The ministry has put in place a new development strategy for 2035, based on a clear vision targeting the strengthening of the role of tourism in the socio-economic and environmental development in the regions and the transformation of the Tunisia destination into the one of the most important competitive and sustainable destinations in the world through product diversification with the aim of safeguarding cultural and natural heritage and creating new investment and employment opportunities.
The Tunisian tourism development strategy for 2035 aims to target new markets. It is based on four main axes: the development of Tunisia’s competitiveness, the diversification of the tourist offer, the impulse of investments in the sector and the development of promotion mechanisms.
This strategy is part of an overall vision of Tunisia by 2035 and goes hand in hand with the various strategies developed in other sectors.
After the absence of the Russian market, what are the new markets targeted by Tunisia?
The absence of the Russian market, due to the Russo-Ukrainian war, has affected the current season given the importance of this market, not only in terms of the number of tourists but also the number of overnight stays registered in the units hoteliers.
The Russian market also helps to boost markets and economic activity through visits to archaeological sites and tourist excursions. Tunisia had welcomed more than 630 thousand Russian tourists in 2019.
The ministry is currently working to diversify markets and target promising markets, including those in Asia and mainly tourists from China, Indonesia and South Korea.
China on Thursday lifted a ban on organized trips to more than 70 additional destinations, including Tunisia. This is a measure in force since the health crisis in 2020 for group travel.
China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Thursday called on travel agencies and tourism service providers in China to resume the pace of marketing group travel for Chinese tourists abroad.
Faced with soaring hotel prices and the degradation of the quality of services, what measures will be taken for this purpose? Do you envisage a reclassification of hotels?
The Ministry does not interfere in this matter. The setting of prices is not only linked to the classification of hotels but takes into account other parameters including supply, demand, quality of services, geographical location and the level of satisfaction of tourists. To do this, the ministry is working to strengthen control campaigns. Since the beginning of 2023, 5,000 control operations have been carried out in various hotel units and the activity of some of them has been temporarily suspended.
We intend to launch a new hotel reclassification project before the end of 2023, in order to improve the quality of services. There will be, thus, new classification criteria including customer satisfaction, eco-responsibility, accessibility to people with specific needs.
Will there be new investment projects that take the environmental component into account?
The volume of tourist investments reached 266.6 million dinars in 2022, including investments made in the accommodation sector (creation, rehabilitation and renovation) of around 219.8 million dinars. Currently, three major tourist projects planned in Tunis, Douz and Djerba are being finalized. They are considered among major tourist investments given the many jobs they will generate. As far as the environmental aspect is concerned, hotel units have no choice but to adapt to climate change and the water stress facing the country. In this sense, the ministry encourages these establishments to rationalize the consumption of water, save energy and recover waste and treated water.
