Tunisia is back in business

Before we’re ushered through the gates of the world-famous Bardo National Museum in Tunis, our vehicle and its occupants are checked over by security staff. This is reassuring and hardly surprising, considering that on 18 March 2015 ISIS militants took hostages, resulting in 22 people, mainly European tourists, being killed at the scene with around 50 injured.

I visited the country last month, following the British, French Italian, US and German governments relaxing advisories against travel there in recent months. I felt no sense of unease and found numerous attractions healthily populated by tourists, as well as busy hotels and nightclubs. There were thorough security measures such as screening of visitors to many buildings, and vehicles inspected before entering hotel/museum grounds.

The Tunisia's tourism industry was devastated by the worst terror attacks in its modern history in 2015. As well as the Bardo atrocity, in June that year 38 people were killed, 30 of them British, at a tourist resort near Sousse.

Visitor numbers fell by 25% to 5.4 million in 2015, while  revenue from tourists dropped by 35% to $1.1 billion. This caused a heavy toll on the country, as tourism accounts for around one-sixth of GDP and provides employment for more than 200,000 people. Mass unemployment and business closures inevitably ravaged the resorts.

Studies by The World Travel and Tourism Council on the impact of terror attacks on tourist destinations found that tourism typically suffers for 13 to 21 months. However, Tunisia having sustained two high-profile attacks in quick succession may have caused even more damage than usual.

The Tunisian Government responded to the attacks by implementing a raft of measures. As well as extra security around tourist sites, it provided extra staff training, tightening of security at borders, some financial support for tourist institutions, reduced taxes, and relaxed visa requirements.

Visitor numbers have been increasing throughout this year. The National Office of Tunisian Tourism (ONTT) announced 3.6 million visitors to July 31 this year, representing a 27% increase year-on-year. Visitors from Europe increased by 15% during that time, a figure that is set to rise considerably as more tourists visit as a result of the relaxation of government travel advisories.

However, there’s some way to go yet. Only about 20% of tourists to Tunisia this year are from European countries. And although more and more tour operators are back on board, others, including the giant, TUI, have yet to reschedule holidays in the destination.

But new markets are targeting Tunisia, most notably Russia and China. Arrivals from Russia have risen considerably, having increased massively between 2015 and last year, from 46,279 to 451,432. This is because of improved bilateral relations between the two countries but also the instability in the popular Russian holiday destinations of Egypt and Turkey.

Chinese tourist arrivals increased 93% from 2015 to 2016, although numbers are low – 7,400 in 2016. However, in February a visa waiver for Chinese nationals was decided and Tunisia was named ‘Best African Tourism Destination 2017’ at the Shanghai World Travel Fair, which will no doubt boost numbers.

As well as regenerating trust in the European market, new approaches may be needed to continue the recovery. For example by lowering prices, or by marketing new experiences and to new groups of people. There is some move towards focusing on Tunisian heritage and the luxury end of the market rather than the mass market. This has been boosted by the announcement of the opening by international hotel chain Four Seasons of a luxury hotel in Tunis at the end of 2017, pitched at ‘bringing a new kind of luxury to this part of North Africa’.