TOURISM FIGURES LOWER THAN EXPECTED

Numbers better than 2013, but still below pre-2010 levels

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Hotel in Hammamet. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons user R. Engelhardt

The latest figures released by Tunisia’s Ministry of Tourism for January-May 2014 show that tourism, while increasing from 2013, remains below pre-2010 levels.
The figures come as a disappointment after Minister of Tourism Amel Karboul had expressed hope earlier this year that the number of visitors to Tunisia this year could exceed those seen before the revolution. Between January and May of this year, 1.97 million tourists have come to Tunisia, compared to 2.21 million for the same period in 2010.
According to Jerry Sorkin, who runs the tour company TunisUSA, the government’s goal of reaching pre-2010 tourism levels had been “overly ambitious.”
“In the years since the revolution, consumers have been exposed to the aggressive marketing campaigns of other countries in the region and are now bombarded with alternatives,” Sorkin told Tunisia Live.
While Sorkin praised Karboul’s use of social media, which he described as “extremely cost-efficient,” he said that more money needed to be spent on “multi-pronged campaigns” that emphasized political and security achievements, in order to bring tourists back.
The Tunisian Hotel Federation (French: FTH) criticized Karboul for lacking a “clear vision,” and, according to Kapitalis, alleged that she had ignored many suggestions from hotel owners.
Both Sorkin and Kapitalis claimed that the biggest decline was in visitors from traditional markets such as France and Italy.