Tourism in Tunisia

• Growth of tourism in Tunisia

  • Mediterranean climate in the north, popular destination for British and other Europeans
  • French colonial rule ended in 1956, French is widely spoken and understood - attracting French and French-speaking tourists
  • Tunisia has seven UNESCO world heritage sites
  • Mediterranean beaches, Dorsal Mountains, Saharan Desert, Star Wars filming locations
  • Private companies such as Thomas Cook work with government to introduce affordable package holidays in 1960s
  • In 2009, industry provided 370,000 jobs
• Affordable package holidays introduced in 1960s

  Multiplier effect
• What impact has tourism had on Tunisia's development gap?

  • Higher income = longer life expectancy as diet and health improves
  • Rising literacy rates from 66% to 79% since 1995
  • changing attitudes towers girls' education; schooling is now compulsory
• Is tourism a sustainable development strategy for Tunisia?

  • pollution of the environment: pollution of beaches from untreated sewage from hotels
  • 'leakage' of profits - foreign companies keep large percentage of profits, limiting how much money is reinvested locally, slowing rate of economic development
  • terrorism - in 2015, two terrorist attacks aimed at tourists. European governments say Tunisia is no longer a safe destination for citizens = les foreign investment in Tunisia's economy