TUNISIA: Tunisian Domestic Tourism Market "not structured"

Tunisia's Minister of Tourism and Handicrafts Salma Elloumi Rekik stressed that the domestic market has not developed because it is not structured and does not benefit from specific marketing channels.

Speaking at a dialogue session on domestic tourism held Wednesday at the headquarters of her Department with the participation of all stakeholders in this area, the Minister highlighted the importance of domestic tourism in enhancing the profitability of the sector and its contribution to boosting economic activity.

The Minister announced, in this regard, the launch of a coordinated action plan with professionals, focusing on marketing, noting that marketing campaigns are launched in 2015 in three periods i.e. June, mid September and December.

These campaigns aim to anchor the tradition of early bookings with the Tunisian tourists to encourage them to spend their vacation in hotels and to preserve the tourist environment.

The flow of Tunisians to tourism units has increased in recent years, with 2 million people in 2014 against 1,360 million in 2009 (+ 46%).

The domestic market ranked 2nd in overnight stays in 2014 (4.3 million nights) after the German market.

For his part, the Vice President of the Tunisian federation of hotels (FTH), Moez Boudali said the FTH has agreed a 30% reduction for Tunisians, calling on hoteliers to provide "respectable services” to Tunisians.