A promising return for tourism, targeting 4 million visitors

On Wednesday, the tourism sector in Tunisia witnessed a promising return to activity after three lean years, with the anchoring of the first cruise ship for cruises in the port of La Goulette.

The ship carried hundreds of tourists of different European nationalities, mostly British and Spanish, knowing that it was the first trip out of 40 scheduled for the tourist season in Tunisia.

Regarding the importance of this trip, Tourism Minister Moez Belhossein said in a press conference that the resumption of cruise cruises “is an announcement of the opening of the tourist season,” pointing to “the hope for the recovery of the tourism sector during the current season after difficult years due to the Corona pandemic,” expressing his hope. In that these trips activate the cultural, economic and commercial movement in Tunisia.

For his part, the head of the cruise committee at the University of Tourism, Karim Al-Ayba, said in a statement to “Sky News Arabia” that Tunisia is a special destination for cruises for European countries, and was classified among the first ten destinations in the Mediterranean basin, but the political turmoil and the Corona pandemic led to its retreat. In the ranking of attractive tourist destinations in recent years.

Balaiba added, “The return of these cruises after an absence of years means that Tunisia has returned as a safe destination for European tourists, which is an important given because European travel agencies determine their reservations based on the success of lightning cruises, which confirms that Tunisia has been approved as a safe tourist destination, which heralds a good season. A successful tourist erases the past years that were difficult for all workers in the tourism sector.”

In this context, the President of the Tunisian University of Travel Agencies, Jaber Ben Attoush, expressed his hope that 2022 will be the year of launch and the return of tourism activity in Tunisia and the world, especially after the success of vaccination campaigns and the lifting of travel restrictions in many countries.

In statements to “Sky News Arabia”, Ben Attoush confirmed that Tunisia is an important tourist destination in the countries of the Mediterranean basin, and it has begun to witness a demand for reservations from European companies and travel agencies, explaining: “We noticed the return of the German market to book flights to Tunisia, and there is a demand from French, British, Belgian and Italian tourists.”

The President of the University of Travel Agencies indicated that the return of cruises will be followed by a return of tourist flights starting next April, which gives Tunisia confidence in a successful tourist season with the return of tourism trips and the organization of exhibitions, as well as the flourishing of desert and internal tourism activity during the current school holiday.

Ben Attoush expected Tunisia to achieve 40% of the rates of the 2019 tourism season, which is equivalent to attracting 4 million tourists to the country during the 2022 season.