Tunisia visited by fewer Algerian tourists than expected

The Tunisian Hotel Federation has revealed that the number of Algerian tourists visiting the country is still low three weeks after the land borders between the two countries were reopened in mid-July.

“The tourist season for this year is considered one of the most difficult tourist seasons in the history of Tunisia due to the economic and political situation the country is witnessing, on top of the Covid-19 pandemic — which has affected the whole tourism sector — as well as global uncertainty,” Federation member Jalel Henchiri told Diwan FM radio on Sunday.

“Domestic Tunisian tourism has outperformed its Algerian counterpart, which is still modest compared with the pre-pandemic period. More than 2 million Algerian tourists visited Tunisia in 2019. The modest number of Algerian tourists is due to delays in opening the border but it is improving. Around 4,000 Algerians entered Tunisia on Saturday.”

Tunisia was counting on the Algerian market to revive tourism, which is affected badly by the absence of Russian and Ukrainian tourists due to the war. Despite the decision to reopen the borders, the official data confirms the “modest” number of Algerian tourists this summer.

Nevertheless, the Tunisian Minister of Tourism announced a few days ago that the government is planning for a target of one million Algerian tourists by the end of the year. The current numbers suggest that this will be a difficult task.

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