Relaxation of health restrictions, the launch of a fund dedicated to alternative tourism, and reinforcement of Air France commercial flights. Tunis is rearming to ensure the 2022 tourist season.
On February 15, Tunisia lifted the state of a health emergency. Since that date, non-vaccinated travelers must perform a PCR test within 48 hours or an antigen test within 24 hours to enter Tunisian territory.
Those with a complete vaccination schedule are no longer required to carry out a screening test but will nevertheless have to complete and submit a form. A self-isolation of five to seven days in the event of the appearance of symptoms must apply for people who test positive. To date, 82% of Tunisians over 40, 67% of those over 12 and 100% of tourist staff are vaccinated.
Air France is getting ready
While air traffic is picking up, Air France declared on February 28 that it wanted to strengthen its air links with Tunisia thanks to “a consolidated flight program for the summer 2022 season”.
In addition to the regular Paris -Tunis line from Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport, Air France will launch from May 29 aboard an Airbus A318, a daily flight between Orly and Tunis (TUN). Departures are scheduled at 2:15 p.m. (arrivals at 3:40 p.m.), and returns at 4:50 p.m. (arrivals at 8:10 p.m.).
In April, the French national company will reactivate flights connecting Paris to Djerba and Monastir. Transavia, the Air France subsidiary specializing in low-cost flights, is also preparing to expand its flight program to Tunisia from Lyon, Marseille (Tunis and Monastir), Montpellier, Nantes, and Nice (Monastir). These flights will be offered at attractive prices: according to flight comparators, the Nice-Monastir connections will be operated every Monday and Friday, between May 6 and October 28, from €59 one way.
Alternative tourism
In addition, the Tunisian Investment Fund (FTI) wants to promote the development of alternative tourism. Indeed, there already exist in Tunisia more “responsible” alternatives to the famous “all-inclusive” formulas specific to mass tourism criticized for its environmental impact. The various alternative tourism products focus on cultural encounters through crafts, agriculture and proximity to nature.
Until now, the absence of classification by the Tunisian National Tourist Office (ONTT) of these offers indirectly penalizes the promoters of the alternative in terms of financing, since the bankers consider this type of project too risky. Thus, on February 27, the FTI launched calls for tenders within the framework of the project “strengthening the reform capacities of Tunisian institutions”.
A necessary revival
These combined efforts are aimed at supporting the recovery of a sector that has suffered. Indeed, the observation of these last two years is chilling: according to the report of the Arab Institute of Business Leaders (IACE) and the ONTT, 80% of hoteliers declared having lost 50% of their turnover. business in 2020. And 135 units out of the more than 820 recorded in 2019 went out of business in 2020. The results, however, improved in 2021. By the end of October, arrivals at the Tunisian borders had reached 1.94 million people, an increase of +7.2% over one year according to the Ministry of Tourism, quoted in November by the official press agency TAP. Revenue from tourist services had reached 1 billion dinars (310 million euros) during the third quarter of 2021, against 589.5 million a year earlier. Over the whole of 2020, they were only 2 billion dinars.
The tourism sector alone represents 14.2% of GDP according to a study carried out by KPMG in 2019, and more than 100,000 direct jobs and 290,000 indirect, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics.
