Tunisian Tourism Minister Habib Ammar, expected a decline in tourism revenues by 66 percent, and in the number of arrivals by 79 percent by the end of this year, Ammar’s words came during his speech at a hearing in Parliament.
The tourism sector in Tunisia represents 14 percent of the GDP, and the health crisis related to the "Corona" epidemic has cast a strong shadow over the activity of the vital sector, which had set a record in the number of arrivals in 2019, exceeding nine million tourists.
Minister Ammar explained that “tourism institutions were not at their best even before the Corona pandemic and the measures of closure, considering that “the return of these institutions to their normal activities is still far-reaching,” adding that “tourism establishments are unable to bear financial burdens for a longer period. He explained that "some measures have been revised to protect these institutions, with the aim of pushing them to preserve job opportunities."
The effects of the crisis were more severe in the peak period between July and September, as the number of expatriates decreased by 88 percent compared to the same period last year. The current situation has caused the loss of about 50 thousand job opportunities, which represents 13% of the percentage of workers in this sector, which employs about 400 thousand workers.
Source (Al-Sharq Al-Awsat Newspaper, Edited)
