Tunisia – projections of tourist office and operators differ

CEO of the Tunisian National Tourist Office in Moscow Mejid Kahlaoui told TRN that from January 1 to August 10, 2014 Tunisia was visited by 181,815 Russian tourists, which is 12% y-o-y growth.
In 2013, 300,000 Russian tourists visited Tunisia.

“We are hoping for even better results in 2014,” Mejid Kahlaoui said.

The total number of Russian tourists expected to come to Tunisia this year is 350,000.

The office plans to attract tourists by promoting not only thalassotherapy, but also the country’s MICE capabilities.

Tunisian travel authorities are planning to actively promote ecotourism on the Russian market. According to the investigation by the experts of the Tunisia’s Ministry of Tourism, the demand for this kind of tourism is quite high. Almost 70,000 hectares of land have been prepared for the corresponding capital investments.

Still, as Natalia Margolina, Head of the Tunisian department in ICS Group, has told TRN, there is a significant drop in demand for the destination compared to the last year.

“The sales are not very high in view of the current situation on the market: decrease in purchasing power of the Russians and an excess of transportation. People are cautious, and early booking has all but stopped. However, a lot of other destinations are experiencing problems similar to those of Tunisia,” she said.

The expert believes that it will be hardly possible for Tunisia to reach the result of 350,000 inbound Russian tourists.
“I think that not more than 200-250 thousand tourists are going to visit Tunisia, and the majority of them will most likely opt for economy class or last minute tours,” says Natalia Margolina.

According to mass media reports, the Tunisian government has proposed to introduce a departure tax. Non-residents will now have to pay $17 when leaving the country. This way Tunisia plans to increase its budget by over $23m and to raise up to $70m in 2015.
The tax is scheduled to be levied starting August 28, 2014.