Coronavirus epidemic hits Tunisia's tourism industry hard

Audio 02:05

By: Olivier Rogez Follow

Tourism in general and the hotel industry in particular are victims of the Covid-19 pandemic and the confinement of countries. In Tunisia, where tourism weighs 14% of GDP, it is a real economic disaster for a sector that was barely recovering from the attacks of 2014-2015.

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How far it is this year 2019 and its 9.5 million tourists on the beaches and in Tunisian hotels.

“  The coronavirus has stopped all tourist activity, period.  Medhi Alani heads the Sultan, a superb luxury hotel in the Gulf of Hammamet. He has 120 employees, and if he was able to pay the March wages, those of April will be cut. “  What we decided was to honor between 60 and 70% the salaries for the month of April. And we have capped them at 1,200 dinars [381 euros, note] .  "

Tunisian hoteliers are used to hard knocks. 2008, and the economic crisis, 2011 and the democratic revolution, 2014 and the attacks. Each time, the tourists desert. But this year is likely to be a white year, according to the president of the Tunisian Federation of hoteliers, Khaled Fakhfakh.
“  Like the vast majority, these are holiday hotels, either in the seaside resorts, or in the south, or in the west, so we have no visibility before the 2021-2022 season.  "

The hotel industry employs 400,000 people in Tunisia and for the employees the shock will be severe. “  What is certain is that there are hotels that will close permanently. So there will necessarily be dismissal. There is not going to be seasonal recruitment, contract workers, fixed-term contracts, will be arrested or will not be renewed . "

Tax deferral

Faced with the disaster, the government offered hoteliers tax deferrals from mid-April. But Medhi Alani is skeptical. According to him the government always puts conditions making these aids difficult to obtain:
"  It has been 22 years that I manage this hotel, in 22 years I have never had state aid which was obvious.  "

If they have few illusions about the action of the government, Tunisian hoteliers remind however that the tourism sector is vital. It provides the country with half of its foreign exchange reserves.

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• Tunisia
• Tourism
• Coronavirus

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