Tunisia to charge departure tax next month
Tunisia has confirmed the introduction of a new departure tax of around £11 per person from October 1.
The 30 dinars tax will be payable, in cash, by all departing passengers, who will need to pay at the airport, port, or local tax office. The charge also applies to infants, children and cruise passengers.
Tunisia had been threatening to bring in some kind of tourist tax for a few years. It tried to introduce an ‘overnight tax’ two years ago of around 70 pence per night per person but it was withdrawn due to strong opposition from the Tunisian travel industry and the lack of infrastructure to collect it.
Although the tourist office has confirmed this new tax will start next month, there is not yet any information about it on its website. A spokeswoman said it was waiting for website developers to update it.
She said 90% of volume to Tunisia comes through Thomas Cook and TUI and their head offices have already been busy informing customers.
Other tour operators said they learned of the tax from the UK Foreign Office, which issued an update to its Tunisia travel advice this week.
Some say that that although the tax is not that high compared with other countries, it could cause logistical problems for visitors.
Tourists are not allowed to leave Tunisia with any of the local currency, but will now have to make sure they keep enough back to make the payment, which has to be in cash.
Hugh Fraser, managing director of Corinthia Travel, said the tax was being introduced at a time when bookings were the worst they’ve been since the start of the Arab Spring.
"It’s a bit annoying we have such short notice and then it’s a half announcement as well, but I don’t think it will have any impact on bookings," he said. "It’s just a logistical headache but there’s nothing we can do about it."
Patrick Millar, marketing manager at Kirker Holidays, said booking to Tunisia are relatively few at the moment.
"Due to concerns about instability, many clients choose to travel to Morocco instead," he said.
"We do not expect the new tax to have any impact on bookings anyway. Similar tourist taxes have been introduced in many parts of Europe including Catalunya and most Italian cities, with no adverse effect on bookings."
Monarch Airlines said it was aware of the tax and has already uploaded a travel alert for customers on its website.
"We are in the process of adding these details into our pre-departure emails so all customers travelling to Tunisia are aware of the payment upon arrival in the country," said a spokesman.
The Foreign Office yesterday updated its travel advice for Tunisia informing UK travellers of the new tax.
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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