Tourism revenues in Tunisia have hit a 3-year low as the number of German tourists visiting Tunisia in particular has sharply decreased, especially on the once-popular island of Djerba.
Tourism revenues in Tunisia have hit a 3-year low as the number of German tourists visiting Tunisia in particular has sharply decreased, especially on the once-popular island of Djerba.
Statistics from the Tunisian Ministry of Tourism (MoT) show that tourism revenues for the first half of 2016 are estimated at US$ 55 million, a substantial decreases compared to the US$ 111 million and US$ 113 million for the same period in 2014 and 2015 respectively.
The number of European tourists visiting Tunisia also decreased during 2016. Many French and German holiday makers canceled their reservations fearing more terrorist attacks. Over the past 18 months, Tunisia witnessed deadly terrorist attacks on the Bardo National Museum in Tunis, a tourist resort in the coastal city of Sousse, a presidential escort bus as well as attacks in border areas near Algeria.
Russians to Djerba
The MoT’s website and social pages enthusiastically brim with images of Russian tourists on the beaches of Djerba and other coastal areas, yet a crisis is evident from the figures. This year, Russian tourists unusually ranked first in terms of the number of arrivals to Djerba, followed by Tunisian, French and then German tourists. Prominent Russian figures, artists, and even Miss Russia visited the island. But Russian tourists’ spending remains low compared to previous visitors, affecting income for key tourism stakeholders.
The Tunisian government has made a concerted effort to reinforce security measures in key tourism regions such as Hammamet, Sousse and Djerba. Yet German Ambassador to Tunisia Andreas Reinicke says German tourists are more put off by the quality of services than the volatile security situation.
In a media statement, Reinicke stressed that the security situation is a major reason why tourists refrain from visiting Tunisia. But he also emphasized other key deterrents. “German tourists want good services both inside and outside hotels and tourist areas like Djerba that has been tarnished by waste. Germans tourists have told me they will never come back to Djerba if waste is not removed,” said Ambassador Reinicke.
Going to waste
Djerba, once a tourist paradise, is facing an existential waste crisis. Five years after the revolution, Djerba has no official landfill or waste removal system. The deterioration of the environmental situation on the island peaked in 2012 when residents held protests demanding the closure of a waste site in Qlaqah, a picturesque area in Djerba. The authorities responded by simply moving the waste elsewhere, creating new unaesthetic dump sites.
It may take a while before the Tunisian tourism sector recovers, yet a solution is in sight for Djerba’s waste problem at least. “The state plans to create the first Waste Recycle Unit in Djerba by 2018,” says Abdulmajeed bin Hammouda, director general of the National Agency for Waste Management.
