Figures recently released by the Tunisian National Tourist Office (TNTO) revealed that the tourism sector performed well during the first two quarters of 2007. It is expected that tourism revenues will surpass the previous forecasts made by the Ministry of Tourism by the end of the year. While indicators are positive, there is nevertheless a gradual overhaul of the tourism sector highlighting the weaknesses of tourism in Tunisia. Constrained by its seasonability and its image as a mass tourism destination, Tunisia needs to raise its profile internationally and maximize the potential of the sector.
Tourism numbers on the rise
According to the latest statistics released by the TNTO, the measures initiated to promote and develop the tourism sector are showing results. The 2007 tourism season should reach higher levels than in 2006. All indicators have risen compared to last year: with 4.41 million visitors, tourism was up 3.7%, tourism revenues up 9.1% to $1.45 billion, the number of night stays by 1% and the occupancy rate in hotels by 2.6%. According to the TNTO, it is expected that tourism revenues will increase by 8.6% in 2007.
Tourism is a major pillar of the national economy, contributing around 7% of the gross domestic product. It is Tunisia’s top foreign currency earner as well as the country’s biggest employer with 400,000 jobs. Though the TNTO figures point to a healthy tourism sector, Tunisia captures only a tiny portion of tourist flows worldwide — less than 1%. Moreover, the number of European tourists (in particular Germans, British, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Maltese), a traditional target of the Tunisian tourism sector, is on a downward trend. Therefore, the country is looking at courting new areas, particularly booming markets such as Eastern Europe and further afield such as the US, Australia, China and Japan. These promising markets are progressing fast — 8%, 7.3%, 56.5% and 18.3% respectively. Tourism in North Africa as a whole is also on the rise, especially in Libya (8.4%) and Algeria (2.6%).
Although the sector is developing, quantity ranks before quality and much needs to be done to boost Tunisian tourism.
As one industry insider said to Oxford Business Group, “Though Tunisia was a pioneer of mass tourism in the 1970s, it has been unable to prepare and adapt itself to globalization and is now penalized by its image as a mass tourism destination. Constrained by its seasonality, Tunisia must diversify tourist activities and infrastructure by maximizing its resources. In this way, the tourism season will extend all year round and will attract well-known tour operators. The new Enfidha airport will contribute to develop year-round tourism thanks to regular flights. The means and abilities exist but Tunisia does not develop and promote its tourism sector efficiently enough at the international level.”
Upgrading hotel services
Aware of the gaps to be filled in the sector, the government launched a major upgrading campaign for hotels in 2005, with the aim of raising the competitiveness and profitability of hotels, improving the level of services offered to tourists, and cashing in on the diversification of tourist activities while developing the communication strategy. An assessment of the first phase, which was completed in July, will be released by the end of September and will identify the strengths and weaknesses of the sector. The findings will be used to amend the overall upgrading program as necessary. There is strong potential for developing tourism in Tunisia, provided public authorities’ national development strategy can maximize the capacity of the sector to raise the profile of Tunisia abroad. However, the problem of the seasons may not be so easily solved, with only the southern half of the country close to Djerba truly appropriate fo
