Category: opinion

In the archaeological museum in Sousse city in east Tunisia, a colourful one-square-meter mosaic of Chinese Taijitu has attracted many visitors. The Taijitu, evenly divided into two halves by a central curve, represents the Chinese philosophy of “Yin and Yang”. The pattern description reads “mosaic with the classical yin-yang pattern in a square. Yin and Yang are the two regulating elements of universal dynamism.” “It is easy for Chinese to recognize it. This is a typical Taijitu, representing … the fusion of Yin and Yang into a single ultimate,” said…

Critics dismiss project as PR campaign designed to support country’s contested policies The British government is paying M&C Saatchi to run a media campaign for the Tunisian government in an attempt to win voters over reforms that have sparked some of the largest protests in the north African state since the Arab spring. The advertising agency – known for its punchy political advertising for the Conservative party – has been hired to run a campaign “targeted towards the Tunisian public”, according to documents. Its objectives are to “improve public awareness of the…

Tourists by the thousands flock to Santorini for the classic pic of whitewashed houses with blue trim and bougainvillea, but an overlooked town in Tunisia also has the goods. “I think a mental health trip to North Africa wouldn’t be the worst thing for you right now,” my father told me, as I booked my flight to Tunisia. The trip was on a whim, in the wake of a break up, and though I’m unsure my mental health improved, my Instagram feed certainly sparkled. We picked the country on a…

The revival of Tunisia’s traditional heritage is creating new opportunities for cultural tourism, says Isabel Putinja I didn’t expect the sky to be white. There’s a sandstorm in the Saharaand I’m at its gateway: a windy hilltop overlooking the arid landscape of the Dahar mountain chain in South Tunisia. Gigantic letters perched on the rocky outcrop I’m standing on spell out MATMATA. Matmata is best known for its underground troglodyte houses where the first Star Wars film was shot in 1976. Hotel Sidi Driss is still the main tourist attraction here –…

Tunisia’s government is hoping that Chinese travelers will be the vehicle of the recovery of the country’s struggling tourism industry. This sentiment is something that Chinese state media have latched onto; Xinhua, for example, recently published a piece optimistically titled “Chinese market to be main factor to revive Tunisian tourism.” The North African country certainly has a lot to offer tourists from any source market with its Mediterranean coastline and wealth of historical and cultural sites. Encouragingly, Chinese tourist arrivals are up about 57 percent for the first five months of 2018,…

Switzerland wants to give Tunisians an incentive to stay home rather than leave for Europe, but instead of building walls it’s investing in promoting tourism to the region to create jobs. The European Union desperately wants to agree on a plan to curb the influx of migrants, possibly by creating vast holding camps in Africa. Donald Trump’s America wants to frighten off migrants from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador by locking them up and taking away their children. Neither will work but here’s a canny immigration control strategy that might. Next month, the tourism…

Experts believe that the economic rapprochement between Tunisia and Libya will pave the way to set a new strategic partnership in all fields The visit of Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemais Jhinaoui to Tripoli recently, the first since 2016, drew new features in the economic relations of the two neighbours who are trying to break the cycle of crisis that has affected the lives of citizens of both countries. Observers believe that Tunisia’s great efforts as a mediator to resolve the Libyan crisis are a strong impetus to strengthen the economic…

Tunisia’s progressive women’s right laws in MENA have not translated into increased economic opportunities By ramping up their lending to female entrepreneurs, banks in Tunisia could dramatically increase their profits while also driving economic growth across the country, says a new report from IFC, a member of the World Bank Group. The report, released today, found that women, who own about one-fifth of Tunisia’s businesses, represent a vast untapped market for lenders. Despite that fact, many women now struggle to get financing for their firms. In fact, smaller businesses owned…

From the coasts of Carthage, to the elegant village of Sidi Bou Said to the bustling city of Tunis, Tunisia was a dream holiday destination, until two terrorist attacks in 2015 plagued the industry. Tourism numbers plummeted, forcing hotels to close and many tourism and hospitality workers to lose their jobs. But three years on, Tunisia’s tourism trade is finally making a positive comeback with revenues up by nearly a third, signalling the start of a real recovery. Some 2.3 million tourists visited Tunisia from January 1 through to May 20, up 21.8…