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Tourism in Tunisia recorded a clear rebound in 2023 with 8.8 million visitors, upended by 49.3% in one year, and is well on the way to surpassing a record reached in 2019
Tourism in Tunisia recorded a clear rebound in 2023 with 8.8 million visitors, up by 49.3% in one year, and is well on the way to surpassing a record reached in 2019. At this pace of growth, tourist arrivals would surpass the figures clocked in 2019, the pre-Covid year, according to the North African country’s Tourism Ministry. The year 2019 was a record year for tourism in the country in terms of footfall. Presently, Tunisia sets a target to reach 80% of what it achieved in 2019.
The Tourism Ministry officials pointed out that by 10 December 2023, Tunisia had exceeded that target, with 8.8 million visitors compared with 8.7 million over the same period in 2019. At this pace, arrivals will reach 9.6 million visitors. As of 10 December 2023, revenue stood at 6.7 billion dinars (around 2 billion euros), which can touch 6.9 billion dinars by the end of 2023.
Ministry officials also have released the country-wise breakup of tourist arrivals. Algeria with 2.7 million arrivals topped the list, followed by Libya (2.1 million) and France (+14.6% with 974,000 tourists). The sector was already 0n recovery since 222 when Tunisia had recovered 68% of the 2019 tourist flow.
The rebound, according to the World Bank has enabled Tunisia, which is 80% in debt, to partially rebalance its current account deficit. This has come against a backdrop of very weak growth (+1.2% forecast by the WB for 2023).
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Tourism accounts for 9% of the GDP of Tunisia. It was severely hit by the revolution that toppled dictator Ben Ali in 2011, followed by jihadist attacks that killed nearly 60 tourists in 2015 at the Bardo Museum in Tunis and in the seaside resort of Sousse (central-eastern Tunisia).
