Tunisia tourism revenues up 36% in Q1
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Tunisia’s tourism revenues have reported a jump of 36% in the first quarter of 2012 compared with the same period in 2011. Tourism receipts reached 1.15 billion dinars (around 575 million euros) during the first three months of this year, was announced by tourism minister Elyes Fakhfakh. The number of overnight stays during this period surged by 74% to 11 million. However, they still remained 20% lower than in the first quarter of 2010.
Revenues, meanwhile, were down 13 to 15% compared with the first quarter of 2010, the year of reference, according to Habib Ammar, the director of Tunisia’s national tourism office, ONTT
The latest figures confirm the recovery of one of Tunisia’s most important industries, after official data released in April indicated a rise in tourist arrivals in the first quarter of 52.8%. The number of tourists visiting Tunisia in the first six months of 2012 was also up, by 41% compared with the first half of last year, to 2.4 million. Reservation rates for July are forecast at 85%, falling to 68% in August and 60% in September.
The French contribute by the far the most to Tunisia’s tourism industry, accounting for 8.7 million overnight stays in 2010, followed by the Germans with 5.3 million overnight stays, according to the ONTT. The number of tourists visiting Tunisia that year fell to 4.8 million in 2011, compared with nearly seven million in 2010, while revenues were down by 33%.