The structure of tourism investment in Tunisia has improved in recent years, with many potential investors intending to invest in 174 projects worth a total of TND 556.7 million, according to Mohamed Mehdi Haloui, investment director at the National Tourist Office.
In an interview with African Manager Ar, he confirmed that the value of investments made during the year 2023, which came into operation, amounted to TND 57.5 million, mainly represented by the opening of 6 hotels, 9 guest houses, 3 rural residences, in addition to the opening of a luxury hotel and 4 tourist restaurants.
He said the improvement of the investment structure and the success of Tunisia as a tourist destination have helped to attract major brands to the world of tourism, especially in the last two years. However, the volume of investment has not yet returned to the levels seen in 2010, mainly due to the long delays in verifying investors’ sources of funds as part of the fight against money laundering.
On the other hand, with regard to the most important projects currently being implemented and scheduled for 2024, Haloui confirmed that the real estate mission company “Tradco” has completed all the procedures for initiating the construction of a 5-star hotel with a total investment of around 51 million dinars. This is in addition to a major project in Greater Tunis for the completion of the “Marriott // Westin” hotel worth 90 million dinars, which is now at the stage of completing the procedures required to obtain the necessary permits.
The official also announced the intention to invest TND 55 million in a major project on the shores of Lake Tunis, which will include a residential and commercial complex and a bed and breakfast.
Projects underway…
The northern suburbs are also expanding, with work underway on the 14-million-dinar “Citesball” hotel in La Marsa.
The tourism sector has also been boosted recently with the launch of a major tourism project involving an integrated tourist complex of tourist residences and commercial areas in the Tabarka region, with a total investment of TND 100 million.
Among the projects due to come on stream this year are a 4-star hotel on rue Jean Jaurès in the city centre, at a cost of TND 4 million, and a youth hostel, which is nearing completion at a cost of TND 28 million.
In Gafsa, the extension of the Mamoun Hotel is well advanced and will be inaugurated in the coming months at an estimated cost of TND 13.5 million.
In addition to these projects, Mehdi Haloui pointed out that there are other projects to complete tourist areas in a number of towns, both in the north and in the south.
He said Tunisia has managed to attract prestigious names such as Radisson Blu, Concorde and Marriott…
In this context, he specified that the Laico Tunis hotel will change its name to the Radisson Blu brand, for which the agreement has been officially signed, bearing in mind that the hotel operated under the Abou Nawas brand, then under the Laico Tunisia brand.
This is further proof of the attractiveness of Tunisia as a destination, which continues to be chosen to host mega tourism projects, such as the tourist boat on the lake, which will bear the name of a famous brand that will be the first to enter Tunisia, the international brand MAMA Shelter.
The director of investments at the national tourism office also announced that the closed Yadis Morjane hotel in the Tabarka region has been acquired by the Qatari investment company Majida, which will start renovating it this year into a 4-star hotel with a capacity of 1,100 beds.
The Forest Hotel at Ain Draham in Jendouba is scheduled to open in 2024 at an estimated cost of 3 million dinars.
