Over 6 Million Tourists Visit Tunisia in First Nine Months of 2018

Sidi Bou Said, one of Tunisia's main resorts. (Getty Images)
Sidi Bou Said, one of Tunisia's main resorts. (Getty Images)
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Over 6 Million Tourists Visit Tunisia in First Nine Months of 2018

Sidi Bou Said, one of Tunisia's main resorts. (Getty Images)
Sidi Bou Said, one of Tunisia's main resorts. (Getty Images)

Tunisia’s tourism continued to rebound from devastating terrorist attacks three years ago as more than six million foreign travelers visit the country in the first nine months of 2018, according to government data.

Arrivals rose 16.9 percent to 6.3 million in the nine months to the end of September, surpassing the number for the whole of 2014.

Terrorist attacks in 2015 included one at the National Bardo museum in Tunis and another targeting a beach resort in Sousse, which together killed 59 foreign tourists and a Tunisian guard.

Tourist arrivals bounced back in 2017 to above their pre-attack levels.

Tourism revenues in the first nine months of 2018 totaled just over 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion), a rise of 27.6 percent year-on-year.

But receipts were only two thirds of the level recorded for 2014 as a whole.

Inflation and excessive reliance on beachside holiday packages have slowed the longer-term recovery of revenues, industry experts told AFP.

Arrivals from Europe and Russia rose nearly 45 percent, accounting for much of the surge, despite concerns that the hot European summer and the football World Cup could limit demand for Tunisian destinations.

Tourism Minister Selma Elloumi Rekik told AFP in May that she expected total arrivals to exceed eight million in 2018, higher than the seven million recorded in 2010, a benchmark year for Tunisian tourism.

Tour operator Thomas Cook, which suspended its Tunisia holidays in the wake of the June 2015 Sousse attack, resumed operations in February.



Gold Holds in Narrow Range as Spotlight Shifts to US Jobs Data

FILE PHOTO: 24 karat gold bars are seen at the United States West Point Mint facility in West Point, New York June 5, 2013.  REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: 24 karat gold bars are seen at the United States West Point Mint facility in West Point, New York June 5, 2013. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo
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Gold Holds in Narrow Range as Spotlight Shifts to US Jobs Data

FILE PHOTO: 24 karat gold bars are seen at the United States West Point Mint facility in West Point, New York June 5, 2013.  REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: 24 karat gold bars are seen at the United States West Point Mint facility in West Point, New York June 5, 2013. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo

Gold prices were stuck in range-bound trade on Thursday as investors awaited US non-farm payrolls data that could influence the Federal Reserve's timeline for interest rate cuts.

Spot gold edged down by 0.1% to $3,352.59 an ounce by 0801 GMT. US gold futures rose 0.1% to $3,363.10.

"Gold is looking for new triggers," said WisdomTree commodities strategist Nitesh Shah.

"We had slightly weak ADP data that could potentially point to a little bit of weakness in underlying labor markets, which has been a little bit of a support for gold, but the non-farm payrolls could be a trigger point later."

Data released by ADP showed US private payrolls dropped by 33,000 jobs in June, marking the first decline in more than two years.

The non-farm payrolls report due at 1230 GMT on Thursday is expected to show an addition of 110,000 jobs in June, down from 139,000 in May, according to a Reuters poll.

US equities climbed to record highs after President Donald Trump announced that the US has struck a trade deal with Vietnam, including a 20% tariff on exports to the United States. He has also expressed optimism about a deal with India.

"More trade deals at lower tariffs could build some confidence that inflation will remain benign, thus allowing the Fed to ease monetary policy," ANZ analysts said in a note.

Non-yielding gold tends to perform well when interest rates are low and during times of political and financial uncertainty.

In other precious metals, spot silver rose 0.1% to $36.93 an ounce and platinum was steady at $1,417.85, hovering near a more than 10-year high hit last week, while palladium was up 0.1% at $1,155.97.