TUNISIA: Tunisia Tourism In Difficulty After Terrorist Attack A Year Ago

Tunisia’s tourism sector is still struggling to recover, a year after a terrorist attack on a beach in Sousse killed 38 tourists.

Surveillance cameras and security checks have become the norm in all holiday hotspots; and hotels are anxious to show tourists, Tunisia is a safe destination.

Tourism accounts for 7 percent of Tunisia’s gross domestic product and provides thousands of jobs, making it a key source of foreign currency.

But tourist arrivals fell to 5 million last year, the lowest in decades, after mostly British tourists were gunned down in Sousse.

The attack came just months after 21 tourists were killed in a jihadist attack at the Bardo National Museum in Tunis.

As the high season kicks off, authorities and tourism firms are hoping to boost confidence and encourage bookings with increased security checks.

Mohammed Bujdaria, regional director in charge of tourism in Yasmine-Hammamet said “Ahead of the summer tourist season, we’ve focused on security. Tourist attractions, restaurants, historical sites and hotels are inspected almost daily. We ensure that the new rules imposed by the government are respected.”

Authorities are now giving their all to restore the country’s image as a top holiday destination.

Speaking on the matter, Anis Suissy, director of Yasmine-Hammamet’s Royal Resort hotel said “We used to attract tourists with sun and beaches. It was a selling point. We are spending a lot on security. And we try to put forward the efforts that our establishment and the State are doing in this regard.”

European markets has also declined by 65 percent since 2010, the year before a revolution toppled dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

So Tunisia is turning to Eastern Europe to boost its struggling tourism industry.

Abdellatif Hamam, General director of the Tunisian National Tourism Board said “We hope that this year, the Russians will give us their trust. It’s a market we’ve been working on for the past decade, and we are trying to revitalize it.”

Government hopes to welcome 300,000 Russian tourists this year, six times the number in 2015.

But authorities are leaving nothing to chance by making moves to deploy additional 1,500 security agents to further boost security in the country.