The three border posts in Jendouba last Friday saw a record number of Algerian visitors for the year, with over 13,000 arrivals in a single day, contributing to a total of 100,000 Algerian tourists at these posts since the beginning of December, a rise of more than 95% compared with the same period last year.
From January 1 to last Saturday, over 1.5 million Algerian tourists entered Tunisia through the Melloula, Babouche, and El Jellil crossings. Regional Tourism Commissioner Issa Marouani expects the total to reach 1.6 million by year-end.
During the first ten days of December, visitor numbers in various tourist facilities exceeded 4,000, with more than 7,500 overnight stays.
Since January 1, 2025, total tourists across Jendouba’s tourist facilities have surpassed 231,000.
Witnesses and Algerian tourists attributed the increase to two main factors.
The first factor concerns the opportunity for a large number of Algerian visitors to benefit from government incentives, namely a travel allowance of €750 per year, provided they do not return to their country within a week of departure.
The second factor is the resurgence of tourism activities in the Tabarka and Ain Draham regions, which are popular destinations due to their environmental, natural, health, and sports attractions.
Accommodation capacity in the governorate of Jendouba will be expanded next year with the completion of three ongoing projects, a five-star hotel and two residences, providing approximately 8,000 beds, in addition to the Ouled Hlal tourist zone project, whose development will begin once the planning studies are completed.
Investment intentions in Tabarka’s tourism sector for 2026 exceed TND 600 million, aimed at creating three five-star hotels. Local and foreign investors are planning projects to develop the region and leverage its assets.
Increase in Le Kef Border Crossings
Algerian tourist flows through Sakiet Sidi Youssef and Kalaât Senan (Kef governorate) rose over 13% from the start of 2025 through November compared with the same period in 2024.
Regional Tourism Commissioner Saber Megri told TAP that 396,239 Algerian tourists crossed these two posts since January, including 220,391 via Sakiet Sidi Youssef and 176,102 via Kalaât Senan. He expressed optimism for a further rise this month due to school holidays and the administrative New Year, periods that typically see heavy Algerian tourist traffic, and expects total arrivals to reach 500,000 by year-end.
The two crossings are also experiencing heavy truck and vehicle traffic in both directions, causing long wait times. Many Tunisian and Algerian citizens on-site have called for sustainable structural solutions to ease congestion and improve cross-border traffic flow.
