Tunisia: $1.3b of Tourism Revenues Expected in 2019

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.