The tourism sector is experiencing an unprecedented recovery in 2024, exceeding even the most optimistic forecasts. After the dark years of the COVID crisis and the global economic challenges, its performance is a record.
According to official figures, tourism receipts in the first nine months of 2024 totaled 5.597 billion dinars ($1.806 billion), compared with 5.231 billion dinars ($1.69 billion) at the end of September 2023.
Tourism receipts stood at 5.4 billion dinars as of September 20, 2024, compared with 5.03 billion dinars for the same period in 2023.
With almost 5.6 billion dinars in receipts, Tunisian tourism has returned to its pre-pandemic level (5.185 billion dinars in 2019).
By 2023, tourism receipts will have increased by 28% to 6.7 billion dinars, which is also considered a record.
Similarly, total tourism receipts and remittances from Tunisians living abroad exceeded 11 billion dinars.
Tourism sector in need of overhaul
Tunisia has no shortage of assets that will enable it to turn the new forms of tourism into a real driving force for regional development, attracting a tourist clientele keen on culture, nature and authenticity.
Thanks to its ecological wealth, but also to the richness of its cultural, archaeological and culinary heritage, the country has inexhaustible potential in terms of tourism.
Today, however, several decades after its introduction in the country and in the light of the changes it has undergone in Tunisia and the world, tourism needs a complete overhaul, encompassing all its by-products and all its related parameters, starting with a broad debate to define a new strategy to ensure its development and sustainability.
Adoption of a Tourism Code
The adoption of a tourism code, the simplification of procedures for the management of alternative tourism and the creation of labelled projects in this field are the main recommendations aimed at resolving the administrative and legal difficulties encountered by professionals in the tourism sector.
These recommendations were adopted following a study initiated by the Tunisian Federation of Travel Agencies (FTAV) in partnership with the German Tour Operators Association (DRV).
They concern the drafting and promulgation of a single ‘Tourism Code’, including a specific chapter on alternative and sustainable tourism, ‘to put an end to the current procedural maze and ensure greater consistency in the rules and procedures to be followed by operators in the sector’.
The code also aims to simplify the monitoring and control of the activity by the relevant ministries and bodies.
A major support program until 2025
In order to revitalize the tourism sector, the Tunisian National Tourist Office (ONTT) will launch campaigns to promote Tunisia as a tourist destination abroad in 2025.
The aim is also to ensure Tunisia’s participation in international fairs and exhibitions to promote Tunisia as a tourist destination, encourage investment in the tourism sector and publicize the new tourism programs aimed at developing sustainable and responsible tourism.
