Tourism revenues reached 924.0 million Tunisian dinars (MTD) to the end of May 2012, according to preliminary figures of the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT), compared to 678.3 MTD in the same period of 2011, i.e. up 36.2%.
The tourism earnings recorded during the first five months of 2012 remain however 12.4% below those of the same period of 2010, during which they totaled 1,054.4 MTD, according to date from the Tunisian National Tourism Board (ONTT).
The number of overnight stays also posted a growth and reached 163,746 compared to 147,364 in the same period of 2011, i.e. up 11.1% but down 9.3% compared to the same period of 2010 (180,533 overnight stays).
According to the data of ONTT, the number of non-resident foreigners who visited Tunisia from January 1 to the end of May 2012 increased by 48.4%, compared with the same period of 2011.
Tunisia hosted 1,906.382 tourists during the first five months of 2012 compared to 1,285.003 to the end of May 2011. This figure is still 13.6% below the one recorded in the first five months of 2010.
The Maghreb market ranks first among foreign markets with a 79.9% growth, with the overall number of tourists reaching 1,097.255 compared to 609,951 in 2011.
According to ONTT statistics, Libyans rank first among tourists who visited Tunisia in the first five months of 2012 with 813,476 tourists to the end of May, 2012, compared with 389,255 tourists in the same period of 2011, followed by Algerians with 263,137 tourists, compared
with 204,623 tourists in the fist five months of 2011.
The European market comes second. The number of tourists who visited Tunisia during the first five months of this year stood at 755,401, compared to 491,648 tourists in the same period of last year, i.e. up 53.6%.
Despite this increase, the number of European tourists is still 28.5% below the one recorded in the first five months of 2010.
European markets, considered as Tunisia’s traditional markets, have kept their preservation in the market’s ranking.
The French market came first with 314,022 tourists in 2012 (first 5 months) compared to 229,566 tourists in the same period of 2011, i.e. up 36.8%.
Still compared with the first five months of 2011, the number of German, British and Italian tourists increased by 100.7% (from 49,882 to 100,093 tourists), 56.5% (from 62,519 to 97,858 tourists) and 53.4% (from 34,077 tourists to 52,291), respectively.
American tourism resumed activity in Tunisia, increasing by 68.1% to reach 12,366 tourists compared to 7,356, despite a continuous fall of 20.5% compared to the first five months of 2010.
The number of American tourists who visited Tunisia is higher than the number of Canadian tourists (8,045 American tourists, compared to 4,435 Canadian).
However, the Middle Eastern market declined by 8.1% in the first five months of 2012, compared to the same period of 2011. The influx of tourists fell from 78,378 to 14,285 tourists.
According to ONTT data, the number of Japanese tourists soared by 184.4% compared to the same period of 2011, reaching 3,357 tourists, compared with 1,170.
