“Tunisia’s tourism revenues soared 42.5% in the first half of 2019 to $692 million compared to the same period last year, official figures showed on Monday.”-Source: Reuters
Key Points:
- Tunisia’s tourism by the numbers
- Security Challenges ahead
Tunisia Tourism
The number of tourists rose 17 percent in the first half of this year to 3.8 million compared to the same period in 2018.
Major European tour operators started to return last year, after three years of shunning Tunisia following an attack on a beach in Sousse that killed 39 tourists and a separate attack at the Bardo National Museum in Tunis that killed 21.
The number of tourists jumped to 8.3 million last year.
Security Challenges Ahead
As an estimated 6.7 million Tunisian voters prepare to head to the polls to elect their next government later this year, a growing fear of terrorist attacks could risk undermining the democratic process in the North African country, some analysts warn.
Recent example: Two suicide attackers blew themselves up in two separate bombings against police in the capital Tunis on June 27, leaving at least one police officer dead and injuring eight people. A third bombing occurred on July 2 after a militant surrounded by police blew himself up.
Best Summary of the situation:
“The future of the country – and hope for the Arab Spring – is very much tied to the 2019 elections. These elections will be the second democratic presidential and parliamentary elections for the country, provided the state of emergency is lifted to facilitate them. The sad reality of politics is that it is hard to buy into a democracy until the party that assumes power in the transition loses an election and hands over power*. That said, a greater reality in politics is that if there is no election (due to the state of emergency or a related matter), citizens lose all faith in the country’s institutions. A death of faith here would ultimately be the death of the Arab Spring.”- The African Report
@DavidSecurity shares information on the Security Situation in Tunisia for the purposes of empowering companies operating in Tunisia as well as expats & travelers.
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