São Paulo – The number of people visiting the countries in North Africa increased by 6.2% in 2013, according to preliminary data from the World Tourism Barometer, report published this week by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). The region received a total of 19.607 million visitors last year.
The report does not offer a break-up by country. The only details given for the region were for Tunisia, which received 6.269 million visitors in 2013.
The figure indicates there has been a continuous improvement in the number of tourists visiting the country. In 2012, Tunisia received 5.95 million tourists, 24.4% more than in 2011. According to the UNWTO, this points to a recovery from the effects of the Arab Spring.
“In 2011, Tunisia still hadn’t recovered. The country still has some way to go before reaching the levels registered in 2010, but they are gaining confidence in the market,” evaluated John Kester, acting director for UNWTO’s Tourism Trends and Marketing Strategies Program, in an interview to ANBA. In 2010, Tunisia received 6.902 million tourists.
According to Kester, Morocco is the main pillar for tourism growth in North Africa. “Morocco is one of the countries which hasn’t been affected by the Arab Spring and has sustained tourism growth in the region,” he explains. When the country’s information does come in, the director expects the number of tourists that visited Morocco in 2013 to reach nearly 10 million.
Egypt, which is also in North Africa, actually appears in the UNWTO report with the countries in the Middle East. The Arab nation registered a 18.1% drop in the number of visitors in 2013, receiving 9.174 million people last year, whereas in 2012 this figure reached 11.196 million.
The UNWTO director states that in the first two quarters of the year, Egypt had shown an increase in the number of visitors by 15% and 12%, respectively. In the third quarter, however, the number of visitors dropped by 46%, and then by 41% in the fourth quarter. This coincides with the removal of former president Mohamed Morsi last July, and consequent political and social turmoil in the country.
For Kester, an improvement in Egypt’s tourism depends on how Egyptians will deal with the political situation. “If there’s stability, tourist confidence will improve,” he emphasizes.
In all, the Middle East registered 51,929 million tourists last year, an increase by only 0.3% in relation to 2012. Despite the slow increase, there was an improvement in the sector, as the comparison between 2012 and 2011 shows a drop by 5.2% in the number of visitors in the countries of the region.
“The Middle East is a mixed region with a few destinations that do very well, such as Dubai and the Arab Emirates in general, which have good infrastructure,” says Kester. According to him, countries like Egypt and Lebanon suffer whether directly or indirectly the effects of the war in Syria, whereas Saudi Arabia’s international tourism is influenced by the number of visitors during Hajj and Umrah, Muslim peregrinations to Mecca.
*Translated by Silvia Lindsey
