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Tunisia: victim of terrorism, tourism becomes the target

3 min reading time

Published on 26/06/15 - Updated on 29/06/23

Just a few months after the attack at the Bardo, Tunisia has once again fallen victim to the blind hatred of terrorism. An armed man opened fire in the tourist area between Sousse and Monastir, El Kantaoui, where there are more than 170 hotels, leading to 38 deaths according to the official report from the Tunisian Ministry of the Interior. Like many key economic sectors, tourism is clearly the target of international terrorism.



With this new attack, terrorism is once again attacking Tuinisian tourism which is so essential to the economic activity of the country, and whose recovery was cut short by the Attack at the Bardo Museum last March 18. It is a new tough blow to the tourism industry whose international arrivals were already down by 20% in the first months of 2015.



Since the tragic events in March, that dissuaded travelers from going to this destination, hotel results in Tunisia entered a free fall. The lack of tourists resulted in an 8 point drop in the occupancy rate at properties in April, and then 7.6 points in May, compared to the same two months in 2014. While hotels maintained their average daily rates, the drop in arrivals caused the RevPAR to collapse by 15.8% in April and 12.9% in May, whereas it had begun to climb in the first three months of the year over 2014.

This drop had a strong impact on hotel results recorded in Tunisia since the beginning of the year. From January to May the Revenue per available room is down 4.2%.

Georges Panayotis, Founder and CEO of the hospitality consulting form MKG Hospitality, draws the following analysis: "This new human tragedy illustrates terrorists' determination to prevent Tunisia from successfully implementing its democratic transition following Arab Spring. By targeting the tourism industry, it simultaneously attacks a symbol of the inter-cultural exchange and undermines a sector that is pivotal to Tunisia's economy which, if it could successfully pull itself together, would be capable of pulling the entire country's economy along in its wake, and also support the stabilization  of a regime  despised by terrorists. Globally, here is wherein lies a terrible reality that still must be faced: on the battlefield where obscurantism opposes democracies, the enemy is polymorphic and may attack from all sides. Like transportation, places of worship, schools, shops, the press and sensitive industrial sites, tourism is a potential target worldwide: it is necessary to boost vigilance to ensure the safety of people."

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