Tunisia on standby for relaxation of travel ban
Tunisia is ready to open for business the minute the British Government gives the all clear, say tourism officials.
Speaking at this week’s World Travel Market, the tourist board’s trade manager said it was hoping for at least a partial relaxation of the travel ban for UK citizens, and that this would give a signal to the rest of the world.
"The infrastructure is fully in tact and we will be ready to open the very next day," said Sami Tounsi, trade manager for the Tunisian National Tourism Office.
"Everybody is watching the UK."
Tounsi said trade activity, including fam trips and marketing campaigns, would begin immediately.
The destination would also push to host the 2019 ABTA Convention, he said.
He said even if the UK didn’t lift the ban completely, tourism officials hoped it would relax it in key resorts, like the island of Djerba, Hammamet and Port El Kantaoui.
Port El Kantoui was the resort where 38 people, including 30 British TUI holidaymakers, were killed by a gunman on a beach in June 2015.
Tounsi said because the majority of those killed were British, it would be particularly symbolic when the UK Government lifted its ban and would encourage other governments to do the same.
Other European countries have also banned their citizens from travelling to Tunisia, including the Netherlands, Ireland, and Denmark.
Others, such as Germany, France and Spain, have already lifted their restrictions.
Around 425,000 Brits travelled to Tunisia in 2014, but this year, until October 20, there have only been around 18,000 British visitors, mostly there to see friends and family.
Meanwhile, the number of Russian visitors has grown six-fold to around 600,000, said Tounsi.
"But there is still enough room for the Brits. Our economy needs hard currencies like the pound, the euro and the dollar," he added.
He said the Russian market has grown because of a shift from Egypt and Turkey and because the Russians are attracted by the low prices and are ‘less fussy’ about security.
Tunisia insists it is now a safe destination thanks to tightened security at its resorts and borders.
Around 40 British military elite are currently positioned on the border with Libya, training Tunisian police.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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