Ranked among the favorite destinations of French tourists for the first three weeks of last July, Tunisia occupies 3 rd place on the podium. It is ahead of Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco and Italy in the Top 20 tourist destinations, compared to the same period of 2022.
After two sabbatical years, tourism is gradually regaining its brilliance. Better still, the latest figures show a marked increase in the number of tourists, the Tunisia destination is now very popular, especially on the European market. If this recovery, which is confirmed over time, is making good days for hoteliers and contributing to foreign currency inflows, it is important to question the quality of the tourist offer but also the model still focused on tourism in mass.
Indeed, the current tourist season puts a smile on everyone’s face, hoteliers, holidaymakers, and above all the State coffers supplied with foreign currency. Moreover, the declarations of various officials, including the Minister of Tourism, augur a real recovery of the sector thanks to the current season which presents itself under the best auspices.
Tourism receipts reached more than 3.3 billion dinars until the end of July 2023, registering an increase of 55% compared to the year 2022, Welcome no later than Saturday, the Minister of Tourism, Mohamed Moez Belhassine.
Thus, the figures exceeded by 28% those of 2019, the reference year, which preceded the pandemic. These figures indicate that Tunisia welcomed more than 5 million tourists until the end of July 2023, an increase of 70% compared to 2022. “The figures are satisfactory so far. Reservations continue even beyond the summer season, “adds the minister, welcoming the efforts of the various parties who have contributed to making this improvement possible.
In the top 3!
The destination seems to be a hit across the entire European market. The various booking sites and tour operators rank Tunisia in the top 3 of the most popular destinations this summer, and even beyond.
Ranked among the favorite destinations of French tourists for the first three weeks of July, Tunisia occupies third place on the podium. It is ahead of Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco and Italy in the Top 20 tourist destinations during the first three weeks of July 2023, compared to the same period of 2022.
According to the Barometer Orchestra, our country comes in 3rd position with a 21% growth in terms of business volume, behind mainland France (1st / +18%) and Spain (2nd / +4%). Tunisia is therefore positioned as the first destination, outside Europe, for French travelers.
Was this success predictable? It must be said that throughout last spring, many travel sites predicted an “explosion” of reservations to Tunisia. To cite only him, since last May, the site specializing in travel “Traveloffpath” has ranked Tunisia as the second most popular destination this summer, behind Azerbaijan.
In addition to the improvement in the security situation, these feats are explained by the recovery of the so-called classic markets, such as France, Italy, and Germany, but above all by what is called low cost. If Tunisian tourism is ready to climb the slope, it is because the destination offers a product at very low prices, out of competition. It suffices to recall that an all-inclusive week in Tunisia, accommodation and flight included, would only cost 500 euros for a European traveler. Our country has always opted for this form of tourism which aims to offer travel and accommodation services at affordable prices for travelers. However, one must ask the question, is this strategic choice which dates back to the 1960s with the first tourist areas built, still effective?
For an attractive and sustainable destination
We learn in this sense that the Ministry of Tourism is currently working to multiply promotional campaigns in Arab markets. The offer is also quite diversified. We are talking about leisure, medical, and hospital tourism, as well as convention and business tourism.
The objective is to capitalize on these encouraging results and attract Arab and Gulf investors. Among the joint projects; those of training in tourism professions, promoting the skills of higher education graduates, and facilitating their integration into tourism-related professions.
Finally, although this highly promising season has restored the brilliance of the Tunisian destination, in particular thanks to the traditional markets, France in this case, the professionals of the trade believe that there is still a long way to go to promote Tunisia as an attractive destination and above all sustainable. This necessarily involves diversifying the tourist product and creating new services targeting new tourist markets.
