Year: 2018

Sousse: more than one million tourists expected

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More than 1.2 million tourists are expected in the tourist area of ​​Sousse-El Kantaoui during the summer season with an increase in the number of overnight stays to 5 million, according to estimates of the regional tourism commission. From the beginning of the year until May 20, tourism indicators have improved with a rise in arrivals (37.1%). Indeed, 32,979 tourists visited the region and spent, in total, 13,763 overnight stays, up 47.5% over the same period last year. Tourism activity in the region saw a gradual return of traditional markets,…

Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts is taking Tunisia’s tourism recovery to the bank

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ecovery for Tunisia’s tourism industry. Moevenpick Hotels and Resorts just today said it was cementing its stronghold in Tunisia with the take over of a contemporary hotel in the coastal city of Sfax. The Swiss hospitality firm signed an agreement with Société Touristique du Sud to manage the Plaza Sfax & Spa Hotel, an upscale property in a prime city center location on Rue Khalid Ibn Walid, close to the historic Medina. The hotel is a short walk to the convention center, another sign also MICE, the meeting and incentive industry…

Kerkennah tragedy, Who is responsible for this calamity?

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The wave of illegal immigration of young Tunisians has been growing since the Revolution of 2011 ending up with a human tragedy. Sunday morning, we woke up with the calamity of the loss of our youth who dared to seek a better life overseas. The recent toll reveals that at least 46 migrants died when their boat sank off Tunisia’s southern coast (Kerkennah island) and 67 others were rescued by the coast guard, the Defence Ministry said on Sunday. The rescue operation was ongoing, the ministry said in a statement. The…

Conference Contrasts Authoritarianism and Democracy in Middle East

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The Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID) held its annual conference in Washington, DC on April 26 to discuss the perilous state of democracy in the Middle East. The theme of this year’s event was “Authoritarianism and Democratic Decline in the Age of Sectarianism and Populism.” University of Denver professor Nader Hashemi, a conference co-organizer, began the day by challenging the notion of “authoritarian stability,” which asserts that strongmen are needed to bring stability to the volatile region. Hashemi described this theory as “a recipe for greater…

Tunisia expects grain harvest falling to 1.4 million tonnes this season

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Tunisia expects its grain harvest to fall to 1.4 million tonnes this season from 1.6 million tonnes because of lack of rain, the agriculture ministry said on Sunday. The crop includes 923 tonnes of durum wheat, 119 tonnes of soft wheat and 362 tonnes of barley. This year’s harvest is divided between 9.233 million quintals of durum wheat, 1.193 million q of soft wheat, 3.627 million q of barley and 308 thousand q of triticale, official from the Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries  told TAP. The yield per hectare reached…

At least 46 migrants die as boat sinks off Kerkennah

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At least 46 migrants died when their boat sank off Tunisia’s southern coast (Kerkennah island) and 67 others were rescued by the coast guard, the Defence Ministry said on Sunday. The rescue operation was ongoing, the ministry said in a statement. The migrants were of Tunisian and other nationalities. Human traffickers increasingly use Tunisia as a launch pad for migrants heading to Europe as Libya’s coast guard, aided by armed groups, has tightened controls. Security officials said the boat was packed with about 180 migrants, including 80 from other African countries. Unemployed…

Urgent Tunisian measures to reap benefits of joining COMESA

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Digitization of business transactions to dismantle obstacles to investors and launching new maritime route to deliver exports to African markets The Tunisian government unveiled a package of urgent reforms aimed mainly at overcoming the large trade deficit as the countdown to the country’s formal accession to the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) began. Officials believe that export is an existential issue for the economy,  and therefore development must be accelerated in addition to strengthening the reserves of the Central Bank of foreign currency. “The ministry is currently…

Closer integration of Tunisia with Europe to include agriculture

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82% of farmers fear the DCFTA would benefit only large farming operations that have easy access to bank loans and markets. Tunisia, facing lingering social and economic problems, has begun talks to further link its economy and society with the European Union through a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA). The DCFTA involves integrating Tunisia’s economy, including its farming sector, with the European Union. Tunisia’s long-neglected farmers contend with growing competition from the European market and the agricultural sector needs reform, officials said. Tunisian Chief Negotiator Hichem Ben Ahmed…

Tunisia hails China’s efforts to cultivate young ICT talents

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Tunisian Minister of Communications Technology and Digital Economy Mouhamed Anouar Maarouf on Friday hailed China’s efforts to support Tunisia in cultivating information and communications technology (ICT) talents. The official’s remarks came during a ceremony held in Tunis, capital of Tunisia that witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the ministry and Huawei, a Chinese electronics giant. For the next three years, ten university students from Tunisia will receive ICT intensive training of Huawei-funded digital skills development program in China each year. “This program is important because it targets…

Tunisia to raise fuel prices, not increase public wages

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Tunisia will raise fuel prices in the coming days but hold off increasing public wages this year to meet terms of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for its next loan tranche, a government official and diplomatic sources said. The North African country also plans to sell Eurobonds worth $1 billion over the next two weeks to help fund a budget hammered by a deep economic crisis, the official told Reuters. The new austerity measures are likely to meet resistance from the powerful labour union UGTT and people tired of austerity,…