Risk & Crisis Management in Tourism Sector:
Recovery from Crisis
in the OIC Member Countries
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4.3. Case Study 3 – Tunisia (Field study)
4.3.1. History and Development of Tourism in Tunisia
Since the early years of modern Tunisia, tourism has been considered an important sector for the
creation of employment and provision of foreign currency. The proximity of the country to Europe,
its moderate weather most of the year, its sandy and undisturbed beaches, its history and human
heritage, its political stability and the openness of the Tunisian people to other cultures were all
factors which made tourism a priority since the early sixties.
In its development strategy of 1962, tourism in Tunisia was designed to appeal to a mass market
focused around the all-inclusive package tour concept. In order to meet the increasing demand for
resort tourism, the government undertookmajor hotel construction programme along its 800-mile
coastline. During the 1970's and 80's accommodation provision grew very fast, from 4000 in 1962
to 34,297 in 1970 and over 100,457 in 1987 (Poirier, 1995; Ministry of Tourism and Handicrafts,
n/d). By 1987 there were 443 hotels and 40,000 jobs in the sector, and international visitor arrivals
had risen from 53,000 in 1962 to 1,875,000 in 1987 (Tourism Strategy, 2016), while foreign
exchange earnings grew from less than TND 2.0 million per year in 1962 to TND 568.9 million in
1987, which accounted for 77% of the trade deficit for that year (UNWTO, 2012).
The level of investment in tourism sector grew by over 600% in a decade, fromTND 10.5 million in
1977 to TND 63.0 million in 1987 (UNWTO, 2010). The majority of hotels were built in the vicinity
of Tunis and the prime resort areas of Nabeul-Hammamet and Djerba. Most of the hotels were built
along the coastline as resorts to accommodate European package tourists.
During this first period 1962-1987, tourism in the country mainly focused on mass tourism with
organized and guided tours. With time and the evolution of social, political and economic situations
in neighbouring countries in the 1970s and 1980s, the volume of visitors from Libya and Algeria
also grew, attracted by the country’s proximity, the good quality of its medical and tourismservices,
and closer cooperation between the Maghreb countries (Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco,
Tunisia). Between 1977 and 1981, the percentage of international visitors from Europe decreased
from 83% to 53%, while the share of visitors from the neighbouring Maghreb countries rose from
10% to 42% over the same period. However, the average length of stay is less for Maghreb tourists
than for Europeans, whilemany are visiting for business ormedical purposes and hence do not stay
in resort areas.
The political commitment in the early 1970's to create more jobs through tourism development
led the government to adopt investment laws which encouraged the construction of beach
resorts, increased the number of tourist arrivals and promoted foreign exchange earnings. In
1988 earnings from tourism amounted to TND 1,086 million, which accounted for more than
97% of the trade deficit. In general terms, in the late 1980's and early 1990's the tourism sector
accounted for about 20% of the country's total foreign export trade on average.