Tourists flock to Tunisia as terror fears subside
Tourists are returning to the Tunisian seaside of Hammamet this summer, three years since dozens of tourists were killed on one of the country's beaches.
In 2015, in the coastal resort of Sousse, 38 people died in a shooting rampage targeting tourists. Earlier that year, an attack on the Bardo National Museum in Tunis left 22 people dead.
The terror attacks decimated Tunisia's crucial tourism sector, which made up 7 per cent of gross domestic product and had already been shaken by the country's 2011 revolution.
Tour operators scrapped their package holidays and numerous countries warned their citizens against travelling to the North African nation.
Tunisia remains under a state of emergency, and an attack this month along the border with Algeria - which left six members of the security forces dead - is a reminder of the challenge the country faces.
The authorities have been working to draw foreign visitors, and in recognising the improved security situation, numerous embassies have overturned their 2015 travel notices.
Cameras have been installed in holiday hot spots, while private security staff are stationed at beach entrances and armed police patrol tourist zones.
The measures appear to be working, with its Tourism Ministry registering more than three million visitors in the first half of the year, surpassing arrivals in the first six months of the benchmark year 2010.
"It is the year for real recovery," Tourism Minister Selma Elloumi Rekik said.
"In 2018, we will exceed eight million arrivals with growth in the Russian and Chinese market, as well as that of the traditional market", notably of French and German tourists.
Tour operator Thomas Cook, which suspended its Tunisia holidays after the 2015 attacks, resumed operations in February and said it has more than tripled summer flights due to demand.
The number of British tourists has more than doubled since last year, with more than 30,000 holidaymakers between January and May, said the British embassy.
The return of foreign cash comes at a vital time, as Tunisians grapple with high unemployment, inflation and the falling value of the dinar.
Seeking to attract tourists from further afield, Tunisia saw the first charter flights arrive from China after lifting visa requirements for Chinese travellers. - AFP
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