Promoting the new Tunisia to foreign countries remains a major concern of Tunisian policy makers and economic players to pull the country out of the chaos caused by the Revolution of January 14.
It is a major challenge for a country that has gone through a revolution and is about to rebuild itself and bounce back in all sectors like tourism, after a suffocating economic and social crisis.
It is also a heavy responsibility that falls on professionals who were seriously hit by the events that followed the Revolution of January 14, 2011.
Indeed, tourism is a sector in which early signs of recovery are highlighted through the figures reported from January 1 to March 10, with a 46% increase in arrivals, reaching 660,000 against 451,000 in the same period in 2011.
These early signs of recovery keep on motivating tourism professionals to step up efforts and enhance consultation on promotion actions that need to be implemented and ways to conduct more efficient marketing campaigns.
In this context, an information meeting on Tunisia’s participation in the Expo 2012 “YEOSU KOREA” was held on Thursday, April 12, 2012.
Targeted strategy
The Tunisian participation in the international exhibition in the Expo 2012 “Yeosu Korea” due from May 12 to August 12 expresses the will of the concerned sides to implement a more targeted marketing strategy to focus on distant markets.
During these 93 days, Tunisians will try to publicize the destination of Tunisia on the Korean market which had 13 million tourists in 2007, with a Tunisian tourism product that will be proposed to South Korean tourism operators, in particular and the Korean public in general.
With a budget of 1.5 MTD and an exhibition hall of 248 square meters, visitors will have the opportunity to travel through time, in the heart of a Tunisian breathtaking authenticity.
Hence, it would be possible to walk through the streets of the medina with all senses on alert and discover the scents and the stunning beauty of this magical place. “We walked around this cube round a lamparo, a handicraft from our Tunisian heritage on a massive scale, recreating these authentic feelings by its textures, its light openwork that floods us through its mat boards, hammered copper and margoum (Tunisian traditional carpet) “Morad Zoghlami, chief architect of the Tunisian pavilion told reporters at an information meeting.
This tourism fair which will be attended by Tunisia will attract several exhibitors from 100 countries in Asia, Europe, Latin America and Africa and 8 million visitors.
Two partnership agreements were signed on the sidelines of the information meeting. The first was signed between the CEPEX and the Tunisian National Tourism Office (ONTT) and the second between the same CEPEX and Qatar Airways to sponsor this event and the participation of Tunisia in this exhibition.
The airline will play a key role in the transport of clients of both countries due to lack of air links between Tunisia and South Korea.
In any case, achieving the targets set in this market involves preliminary conditions, including the importance of relying on an efficient communication strategy, while seeking to stimulate the greatest number of Korean tour operators to market the Tunisian tourism product.
It is a choice approach to promote the image of post-Revolutionary Tunisia and overcome this rather morose spring in Tunisia, especially with the improvement of some economic indicators compared with the same period of 2010 and 2011.
