Tunisia Witnesses Slight Improvement in Tourism Indicators

People walk past shops in the Medina, in the Old City of Tunis, Tunisia, July 27, 2021. Picture taken July 27, 2021. (Reuters)
People walk past shops in the Medina, in the Old City of Tunis, Tunisia, July 27, 2021. Picture taken July 27, 2021. (Reuters)
TT

Tunisia Witnesses Slight Improvement in Tourism Indicators

People walk past shops in the Medina, in the Old City of Tunis, Tunisia, July 27, 2021. Picture taken July 27, 2021. (Reuters)
People walk past shops in the Medina, in the Old City of Tunis, Tunisia, July 27, 2021. Picture taken July 27, 2021. (Reuters)

Tourism sector revenues in Tunisia have slightly improved and were estimated at around 1.9 billion Tunisian dinars (about $678 million) in the first 10 months of 2021, according to the financial and monetary indicators released by the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT).

Tunisia received about 1.94 million tourists, an increase of 7.2 percent, with a six percent rise in revenues, which may provide a stock of foreign exchange the economy desperately needs during this period.

However, these figures are still far from the records achieved in 2019, when Tunisian tourist facilities received about 9.5 million tourists, with five billion dinars ($1.8 billion) in revenues.

This makes tourism one of the key pillars of the Tunisian economy.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA-Tunisia) recorded a slight decline in the flow of foreign investments into Tunisia. It reported a drop by two percent during the first nine months of 2021, estimated at 1.383 billion dinars ($494 million).

Foreign investments have witnessed sharp fluctuations in recent years.



Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi Drop Talks on Business Integration

This combination of pictures created on February 13, 2025 shows the logo of Honda Motor (L) taken on February 6, 2025 at the company's showroom in Tokyo and the logo of Nissan Motor (R) being displayed at the company's showroom in Tokyo on February 13, 2025. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP)
This combination of pictures created on February 13, 2025 shows the logo of Honda Motor (L) taken on February 6, 2025 at the company's showroom in Tokyo and the logo of Nissan Motor (R) being displayed at the company's showroom in Tokyo on February 13, 2025. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP)
TT

Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi Drop Talks on Business Integration

This combination of pictures created on February 13, 2025 shows the logo of Honda Motor (L) taken on February 6, 2025 at the company's showroom in Tokyo and the logo of Nissan Motor (R) being displayed at the company's showroom in Tokyo on February 13, 2025. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP)
This combination of pictures created on February 13, 2025 shows the logo of Honda Motor (L) taken on February 6, 2025 at the company's showroom in Tokyo and the logo of Nissan Motor (R) being displayed at the company's showroom in Tokyo on February 13, 2025. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP)

Japanese automakers Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi said Thursday they are ending talks on business integration.
Nissan Chief Executive Makoto Uchida said the talks had changed focus from setting up a joint holding company to making Nissan into a subsidiary of Honda, The Associated Press reported.
“The intent was to join forces to win in the global competition, but this was not going to realize Nissan's potential, so I could not accept it,” he told reporters. He said that Nissan was going to aim for a turnaround without Honda instead.
Honda Chief Executive Toshihiro Mibe said in a separate news conference that Honda had suggested a stock swap to speed up decision-making.
“I am really disappointed,” Mibe told reporters. “I felt the potential was great, but I also knew actions that would bring pain were necessary to realize that."
The automakers agreed to end their agreement regarding the consideration of the structure for a collaboration, a joint statement said.
Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Corp. announced in December that they were going to hold talks to set up a joint holding company. Mitsubishi Motors Corp. had said it was considering joining that group.
From the start, the effort had analysts puzzled as to the advantages to any of the companies, as their model lineups and strengths overlap in an industry shaken by the arrival of powerful newcomers like Tesla and BYD, as well as the move to electrification.
Honda and Nissan initially said they were trying to finalize an agreement by June and set up the holding company by August.
The three automakers will continue to work together on electric vehicles and smart cars, such as autonomous driving, they said Thursday.
In recent weeks, Japanese media had various reports about the talks breaking down, citing unidentified sources. Some said Nissan balked at becoming a minor player in the partnership with Honda.
Mibe denied he knew or heard anything about the media speculation that Taiwan's Foxconn was considering taking a stake in Nissan.
Honda is in far better financial shape and was to take the lead in the joint executive team. Honda reported Thursday that its April-December 2024 profits declined 7% to 805 billion yen ($5 billion).
Nissan reported a loss for the July-September quarter as its vehicle sales sank, prompting it to slash 9,000 jobs. At that time, Uchida took a 50% pay cut to take responsibility for the results.