Thousands of families fleeing the hell of the Libyan conflict are finding an idyllic refuge in the beach resorts of south Tunisia. Some 5,000 Lybians are pouring into tourist destinations like Djerba island, cramming hotels to capacity and presenting locals with countless business opportunities. But a slew of resulting logistical and security problems overshadows the short-term economic benefits.
Libyans flood into Tunisia
Thousands of families fleeing the hell of the Libyan conflict are finding an idyllic refuge in the beach resorts of south Tunisia. Some 5,000 Lybians are pouring into tourist destinations like Djerba island, cramming hotels to capacity and presenting locals with countless business opportunities. But a slew of resulting logistical and security problems overshadows the short-term economic benefits.
Libyans flood into Tunisia
Some 60,000 Lybians have crossed into Tunisia via the southeastern border at Ras Jedir since the outbreak of armed conflict in June, according to Tunisian border authorities. Djerba, the most popular destination, has accommodated the majority of refugees, and has seen a significant boost in trade as a result.
Hotels were booked to capacity as Libyans began reserving rooms through various travel agencies, leading them to raise their online rates by 20-40 percent, says Bashir al-Zammouri, president of the Hotel Owners Union. “The vacant rooms were allocated for domestic tourism, but Libyan tourists can pay higher prices and they can even pay in advance,” he told Correspondents.
A long-needed tourism boost
He added that Tunisia’s hospitality had been hurt by the political turbulence of 2011, and stressed that “the tourism sector should make use of such opportunities to achieve unexpected profits to compensate for its losses.”
Al-Zammouri also pointed out that the Libyan tourists have different spending habits than their European counterparts. “The European tourists know what they want to see and their travel itineraries are catered to these demands,” he said. Lybians spend more money than the Europeans, who usually purchase budget travel deals to avoid paying for additional hotel services and amenities.
However, Al-Zammouri says that the arrival of thousands of Libyans during peak season cannot be credited for saving Tunisian tourism. “The influx of Libyans to this island has revived the sector and brought additional profits, but we would have been able to make one third of these profits from local tourism, which annually contributes to the filling of vacant rooms after the bookings of tourists coming from European countries are completed.”
In addition to hotels, Libyan families prefer to live in furnished apartments in the city of Gabes. This has led to an increase of about 40 per cent higher realtor fees and prices.
Short-term rental accommodations are now available throughout Djerba. Many local families rent their homes to the Libyans and move to their relatives’ homes, with whom they split the profits. Others have made alterations to their houses to create rentable living spaces.
Shortages in supply
The presence of Libyans in the different places has doubled the normal pattern of consumption and forced meat and poultry sellers to double
There are no official statistics on the number of Libyans in Djerba, but their cars, which are parked everywhere and their presence in malls and beaches, indicate that there are thousands of them and that the island is living under exceptional circumstances that are not void of drawbacks and social implications.
Samia al-Bayyouli, a journalist who lives in Djerba, told Correspondents: “Libyans prefer to live on this island because it is close to the Libyan-Tunisian borders and because its people share the same traditions. Moreover, the weather on this island is good and there is security and entertainment places, which would make Libyans forget the sounds of bullets and rockets.”
She added that although the Libyans brought economic recovery, big shops have suffered from a shortage in the supply of food products such as milk, sugar and flour. Consumption of these products has doubled as Libyans started to smuggle them back into their country, exacerbating the shortages even more.
Cultural differences
On more than one occasion, hotel administrations complained about problems between Libyan and foreign tourists. There are many eye witnesses who confirm that the behavior of some Libyans and the insistence of women on swimming with their niqab in the hotels’ swimming pools, have caused problems.
The influx of Libyans to hotels has
Lutfi al-Jamaei, an electronic engineer, is reluctant to search for another tourists’ city where he can find some vacant rooms for his family. “The prices have changed and I can no longer pay the amounts charged by hotels to spend a week with my family. One month ago, I checked the prices on one of the electronic sites and I chose the hotel where I wanted to spend my holiday. However, after the al-Fitr Eid, all the prices were changed and instead of 90 dinars per night, the price rose to 140!”
A security obsession
Basem al-Sindi, an expert in terrorism issues, said: “The entry of this huge number of Libyans is a real test of the capacities of the security units and their ability to prevent crimes, especially in the cities in the south east of Tunisia and in coastal cities.
In a statement to Correspondents, he said the influx of thousands of Libyans in such a short amount of time requires the means and security agents in order to be able to verify IDs and ensure that no dangerous criminals are able to infiltrate the country.
“This can be done at the border crossing points, but identifying suspicious people does not end here. There should be close monitoring of hospitals and medical facilities which are hosing injured Libyans in addition to the intensification of security measures in the different important facilities.
Al-Sindi also stressed the importance of dealing seriously with circulated intelligence
“These terrorist deliberately implement
As Tunisia is becoming the safe haven for thousands of Libyans fleeing the horror of armed conflict in their country, it is also becoming fragile to the danger of terrorism and there are real threats to its national security.
