Tunisia sends ministerial team to lure Russian holidaymakers

A high key Tunisian delegation has flown to Russian Monday in a bid to promote the North African country as a tourism destination among  Russian tourists.

Tourism Minister Habib Ammar,  head of the national observatory of new and emerging diseases Nissaf Ben Alaya, and Secretary of state of the foreign ministry Mohamed Ali Nafti will hold  working sessions with Russian authorities, journalists and tour operators.

“This visit will be an opportunity to hold working sessions with senior Russian officials to discuss ways to develop bilateral cooperation between the two countries, especially in the fields of tourism and culture,” the tourism ministry said in a statement.

Tunisia is expected to launch the tourism session starting this April 19 as it reopens borders. Speaking to Mosaïque Fm late last month, Habib Ammar indicated that Tunisia is open to any tourist holding a 48-hours- old PCR test.

The tourists will be required to take another test 48 hours after entering the country.

Tunisia’s tourism industry, the second biggest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contributor, has been hard hit by the pandemic.

Tourism returns dropped by 64 percent to 1.9 billion dinars ($691 million) from early 2020 until December 10, compared to the same period in 2019, Asharq al-Awsat reported.