Coronavirus: Tunisian tourism seriously affected by pandemic

03 Décembre 2020

Tunis, Tunisia, December 3 (Infosplusgabon) - The tourism sector in Tunisia was seriously affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, leading to a 78 per cent drop in the number of tourists, 80.5 per cent in the number of nights and 61.7 per cent of receipts over the first eight months this year, the Tunisian minister of Tourism and Craft industry said on Wednesday.

The minister, who was addressing Parliament during the plenary session of the budget of his department, said the World Tourism Organization (WTO) had indicated that the resumption of tourist activities would not take place in a year or two.

He said the second wave of the pandemic had had stronger effects, underlining that the objective of the Tunisian government was to preserve jobs and investments made over 60 years.

He spoke about the different decisions that were approved on 6 November 2020 by a limited ministerial council to back the sector and prepare for a possible improvement, in June 2021, with the coming of the vaccine.

Tourism, a pillar of the Tunisian economy, is one of the main providers of strong currencies for the government budget. It ensures 400,000 direct and indirect jobs and contributes to 14.2 per cent of the country’s GDP and represents a driving force behind other sectors of activity such as craft industry and agro-food industry, he said.

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