Tunisia tourism on path to recovery
Tunisian tourism is recovering, despite global trends which have affected this small North African country. Regardless of the challenges caused by the Ukraine war, Tunisia airports and tourism closed 2023 with a significant jump in passenger traffic, according to The Arab Weekly on January 15th. This was the largest jump in the country’s history, as Tunisia exceeded eight million passengers.
The unprecedented rise in the number of traveler’s who visited Tunisia in 2023 brought about a sense of optimism to the sector and to officials for a greater recovery in flights this year.
According to the data released by the Tunisian Civil Aviation and Airports Authority, by the end of 2023, the number of passengers increased by 21.9 percent and is to reach 8.8 million compared to 2022.
Furthermore, the total number of passengers travelling through the Tuni-Carthage International Airport approximately increased by 19.7 percent and is to reach 6.64 million, the authority explained. At Djerba Airport, located in the South of Tunisia, travel traffic grew by 28.4 percent, with 1.96 million passengers.
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On an annual basis, at Sfax airport, the number of passengers increased by approximately 46.1 percent, reaching approximately 174,000. The traffic at Tozeur airport increased by 8.4 percent to 18,400 passengers.
On the other hand, the number of passengers at Gabes-Matmata International Airport decreased by approximately 10.1 Percent and at Tabarka-Ain Draham Airport, by roughly 16.1 percent.
According to the official Tunisian news Agency (TAP), figures about the flow of passengers at Enfidha-Hammamet International Airport were not issued out.
Tunisian transport experts believe that for Tunisia to increase the momentum of its travel industry, it should undertake major reforms. The reforms include developing infrastructure, upgrading services, increasing their quality, and attracting prominent airlines such as Ireland’s Ryanair, like in Jordan and Morocco.
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Based on recent figures, the largest airport in Tunisia, Tunis-Carthage International Airport has reached its maximum passenger capacity. It no longer reflects the image of a country seeking to restore tourists’ confidence and achieve record arrival rates like it did before the 2011 crisis.
In 2018, plans to establish a new airport in the city of Bizerte as an alternative to Tunis-Carthage Airport emerged.
The goal was to attract more visitors. Especially since Tunisia’s seven airports, excluding Tunis-Carthage International Airport, were preparing to receive low-cost European airlines. However, for unknown reasons, the Bizerte project has not yet seen light.
With regards to air traffic, in an annual comparison, Tunisian airports experienced a growth rate of about 15.7 percent in the total number of aircraft last year, as they provided more than 75, 300 flights.
Ayman Rahmani, Head of Studies and International cooperation at the National Tourism Office, said that their goal was to recover 80 percent of the flows recorded in 2019, a reference year for the past decade. As a result, as of December 10, 2023, this goal was exceeded, with revenues exceeding two billion dollars, Rahmani told AFP.
At the top of the list of visitors to Tunisia was Algeria with about 2.7 million. Libya came second with about 2.1 million and France came third with 974,00.
The Arab Weekly plus agencies
