Tunisia: $1.3b of Tourism Revenues Expected in 2019

People walk next to Palmarium shopping mall in Tunis. — Reuters
People walk next to Palmarium shopping mall in Tunis. — Reuters
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Tunisia: $1.3b of Tourism Revenues Expected in 2019

People walk next to Palmarium shopping mall in Tunis. — Reuters
People walk next to Palmarium shopping mall in Tunis. — Reuters

Tunisian Tourism Minister Roni Trabelsi expected the revenues of the tourism sector to exceed TND4 billion (USD1.3 billion) at the end of the year.

The minister affirmed that the number of tourists to visit Tunisia would surpass nine million compared to eight million during the same period in 2018.

FTH (Fédération Tunisienne de l'Hôtellerie) president Khaled Fakhfakh affirmed the importance of the Algerian market in reviving the tourism sector, in which the Tunisian destination witnessed a surge of over 2 million Algerian tourists in the past years.

Also, development in the Russian market was remarkable with the flow of more than 600,00 Russians to Tunisia.

The tourism sector contributes to around 14.2 percent of the GDP and guarantees job opportunities to a minimum of 2 million Tunisians.

Previous figures showed a contribution of around 8 percent to the GDP, however, the relapse of other economy drivers’ performance (investments, exporting, expats’ transfers) gave the sector a greater position.

During the past six months, revenues of the season underwent an increase by 42.5 percent – the profits were estimated at a minimum of TND1.98 billion (USD650 million approximately), compared to the same period of last year.

Moreover, tourists arriving from the Maghreb rose up to 18.3 percent. Meanwhile, European tourists increased by 22 percent with the British percentage doubling compared to the past year, an increase of 119 percent.

As for French tourists, the total increased by 26.2 percent compared to the same period in 2018.



Syria, World Bank Discuss Tools to Support Syrian Economic Recovery

People wait their turn in a queue outside an ATM in Damascus on April 16, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
People wait their turn in a queue outside an ATM in Damascus on April 16, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
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Syria, World Bank Discuss Tools to Support Syrian Economic Recovery

People wait their turn in a queue outside an ATM in Damascus on April 16, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
People wait their turn in a queue outside an ATM in Damascus on April 16, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)

Members of the Syrian government and a delegation from the World Bank discussed in Damascus tools to support Syria's economic recovery, the Syrian foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

Sources told Reuters on Saturday that Syrian officials are planning to attend the annual spring meetings held by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington, D.C. this month, which would be the first such visit in at least two decades.

Syria has around $15 million in arrears to the World Bank which must be paid off before the international financial institution can approve grants and provide other forms of assistance.

But Damascus is short of foreign currency and a previous plan to pay off the debts using assets frozen abroad did not materialize, according to two people familiar with the matter.

A technical delegation from the World Bank met with Syria's Finance Minister Mohammed Yosr Bernieh on Monday, according to the Syrian state news agency Sana.
The meeting, which was the first public meeting between the Syrian government and the World Bank, included discussions on strengthening financial and economic ties between the two sides.
Bernieh also highlighted the negative effects of the international sanctions imposed on Syria and policies of the former regime on the country's financial and banking sector.