Tunisia unveils new measure to boost tourism

Tunisian Tourism Minister, Mohamed El Moez Belhassine, has presented a set of new measures to promote the North African country’s destination.

In an interview with State-run news agency TAP, Belhassine indicated that his ministry and stakeholders of the sector have decided to create a “Higher Council of Tourism” that will play a coordination mechanism role between various ministries intervening in the tourism industry.

This body will coordinate policies and strategies formulated by the various stakeholders to promote the sector and oversee the implementation of these strategies, he said, noting that the promotion of the tourism sector is a collective responsibility involving various ministries (transport, health, industry, agriculture, etc.) to address challenges such as water scarcity, energy efficiency and tourist safety.

The Higher Tourism Council was originally established in 2003 and dissolved in 2010. This institution will work within a holistic 2035 vision for Tunisia, in line with strategies in other sectors.

The department has also proposed a “tourism Code” in a move to unify the legislative framework and boost tourism investment.

Belhassine also announced the creation of a “Tourism Satellite Account” to assess the real contribution of the tourism sector to the national economy.
As another new measure, the ministry plans to introduce a new system for revising hotel classification by the end of 2023, with a view to improving service quality, Belhassine told the agency.

The real tourism revenues are double the figure announced, which begs for the introduction of a new statistical system for the tourism sector, enabling to assess the real contribution of the tourism sector to the economy, the minister added.

“Estimated tourism revenues of TND3.8 billion up to the end of July 2023 do not represent the true value of this sector’s contribution to the national economy, since this figure does not take into account spending on tourists’ medical care, cruises, purchases of handicrafts, shopping and also travel within the country, especially for those traveling alone”, stressed the Government.

As many as 5 million tourists have so far visited Tunisia this year. The figures account for 70 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2022.