São Paulo – Tunisia saw TND 2 billion (USD 860 million) in tourist revenue from January to October this year, down 7.1% from the same months in 2015, its Ministry of Tourism has reported. The information was released by news agency Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP).
TAP said the drop in revenue came in spite of higher tourist influx and an increase in overnight stays. The country welcomed 4,810,760 foreign tourists through October, up 3.4% from the comparable year-ago period.
Guest nights amounted to 16,422,968, a 10% increase year-on-year.
Tourism is a major source of revenue for Tunisia, but the industry’s performance has been subpar since 2011, when a popular uprising overthrew then-president Zine Abdine Ben Ali, during the so-called Arab Spring.
The situation deteriorated further last year, with terrorist attacks at Tunis’ Bardo Museum and on the coastal town of Sousse, which claimed dozens of lives, mostly tourists’.
According to TAP, the Ministry of Tourism said a tourism restructuring plan will be put in place, including professional training initiatives, quality control and diversification of tourist products.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
