Tunisia is required to highlight its other touristic assets besides beach-oriented tourism, said Stefan Nigg, Manager of GfK, one of the world’s Custom Research consulting firms, in an interview with African Manager. Interview:
How do you assess Tunisia’s positioning in the field of tourism?
Tunisia is in competition with other Mediterranean countries, and I observe that, unfortunately, Tunisia is not performing that good as the other competitors, especially the eastern Mediterranean countries, like Egypt, Turkey which are performing very well at this moment. And Tunisia is behind them.
I think that the big success for the moment is due to two factors. On one hand, Turkey is extremely strong in all inclusive holiday. People are willing to know in advance how much money they owe to spend for holiday, so that they don’t take more money than they booked already. What we are seeing from our data is two-week holiday is losing importance.
On the other side, Turkey is scheduling short term holidays. It is reducing the duration.
What about the level of prices?
Tunisia is not a high-priced country. It is a low-priced one.
Is that good or bad?
It’s difficult to judge now. Low price is good for the consumer, because customers are always looking for lower prices. But, I think that is a matter of image and quality.
What are the main negative aspects of Tunisian tourism?
They have to highlight more what is attractive in the country Tunisian tourism is a little bit more beach-oriented, and that what the reputation of Tunisia is based on. That doesn’t include the other attractions of the country, for example the cultural highlight.
Are Tunisian hotels enough competitive?
Tunisia is not spending as much as Egypt or Turkey for advertising and promotion.
We are already present in Tunisia where we have not yet an office. But sooner or later, we will open an office in Tunisia.
Did you set a date?
No, not yet.
