Thomas Cook announced it would start flying British tourists to Tunisia as of mid-February.
The British government gave tourists the green light to resume travelling to Tunisia, having concluded that the North African country had made significant improvements to security conditions, particularly in tourist areas, the Arab Weekly reports.
UK Minister of State for Security Ben Wallace, at the end of a 3-day trip to Tunisia, said: “It has been really impressive what I have seen over the last few days. I look forward to the fact there is going to be lots more British people coming in the next few weeks.”
Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui said the United Kingdom’s assessment of Tunisia’s security conditions would have a “very positive” effect on the tourism industry, the source adds.
“Wallace visited several locations where he noted strengthened security measures around sensitive areas and tourist areas to prepare for the arrivals and stays of tourists in better conditions,” Jhinaoui said.
Britain’s updated travel advice is good news for an industry that seems to be rebounding. Tourist arrivals to Tunisia, which plummeted after terrorist attacks in 2015, improved 32.5% in 2017 compared to the previous year and totalled 7.5 million people, government figures stated. The World Tourism Organisation ranked Tunisia’s leisure industry the fifth most rapidly expanding in the world in 2017, the Arab Weekly reports said.
Tourism has historically been a major driver of Tunisia’s economy, bringing in needed foreign currency and employing thousands. In 2014, Tunisia earned around $2 billion in tourism revenue.
TunisianMonitorOnLine (source: the Arab Weekly reports)
