The first signs of a revival of Italian tourism in Tunisia seem to be announced this year, said Minister of Tourism and Handicraft Selma Elloumi Rekik on Monday, referring to a 19% improvement in arrivals, compared to 2016, to 40 thousand tourists (July 2017).
Speaking at a workshop held on Monday in Tunis, on the occasion of the Tunisian-Italian joint committee, Elloumi said that this meeting aims to promote tourism flows between the two countries, by strengthening the work of Tunisian and Italian professionals. She stressed that the recovery of the Italian destination remains timid compared to the real potential of the country, ensuring that the security situation has improved considerably.
The minister recalled that Tunisia, previously preferred destination of the Italians, experienced a fall in this market, 80% between the period 2010-2016. The number of Italians who visited Tunisia fell from 350 thousand tourists in 2010 to just 72 thousand in 2016.
According to Elloumi, disputes between Italian and Tunisian professionals are hampering the resumption of tourist flows. In this regard, she said that the Tunisian administration was ready to mediate between the two parties so that the problems could be resolved amicably.
On this issue, Mohamed Ali Toumi, President of the Tunisian Federation of Travel and Tourism Agencies (FTAV) said that these conflicts between the tour operators of the two countries are financial and hoped to see the outstanding files, resolved as soon as possible and result in concrete results. Finally, he assured that the tourists will be welcomed in better conditions.
For her part, Secretary of State for Culture and Tourism, Dorina Bianchi, stressed that the prospects for cooperation between the two countries are very positive, saying that the Italian government continues to support the Tunisian government in the tourism sector.
The objective, she said, is to increase the flow of Italian tourists to Tunisia, which remains the strategic partner of Italy. Support actions for Tunisian tourism mainly concern the encouragement of air and sea flows between the two countries, the conclusion of cooperation agreements in the cultural field and the support of Italian tour operators to market the destination Tunisia.
© Tunis-Afrique Presse 2017
