Tunisia - case study

• Tunisia is an example of a low income country in North Africa where tourism has reduced its development gap
• Why has Tunisia become a popular tourist destination:

  • climate = hot and sunny climate attracts many Europeans
• Why has Tunisia become a popular tourist destination:

  • links to Europe = it is very close to Europe making it very accessible and French is widely spoken there as it used to be a French colony
• Why has Tunisia become a popular tourist destination:

  • history and culture = contains 7 UNESCO world heritage sites like the El-Jem amphitheatre built by the Romans
• Why has Tunisia become a popular tourist destination:

  • physical landscape = Mediterranean beaches, mountains and deserts (It is also a location where many productions like Star Wars were filmed)
• Why has Tunisia become a popular tourist destination:

  • cheap package holidays = Tunisian government working with private agencies like Thomas Cook to develop Tunisia as a tourist destination. The industry has become very successful and provides around 700,000 jobs
• Tunisia has become one of Africa's most wealthiest countries, where the government also spends around 5% of their annual gdp on healthcare which has led to a longer life expectancy
• Literacy rates have increased in Tunisia by 20% where more families can afford to send their children to school and university. Education has become compulsory to everyone including women.
• Tourism in Tunisia has led to the multiplier effect as more money is spent on hotels and local businesses like the souk (market) which has increased employment rates and allowed both the formal and informal economy to thrive