The Arab Institute for Heads of Enterprises has called for the adoption of several orientations and measures to develop Tunisia's tourism sector and enhance its competitiveness. These proposals are part of a study titled "Tunisian Tourism: Competitiveness Obstacles and Development Levers." The study highlights the main structural challenges hindering the sector's growth and suggests ways to improve its performance and better utilize Tunisia's natural and cultural resources.
The study emphasizes the importance of improving air, land, and sea connections to tourist destinations. It recommends identifying deficiencies in connections based on source markets and tourist areas and adopting incentives to develop air services to promising markets and periods. These incentives should be evaluable and linked to results. Additionally, the study stresses the need to include accessibility to destinations in investment planning for the tourism sector.
To diversify and create value in the tourism sector, the Institute suggests developing a strategy to identify tourist products by category and region. This approach aims to increase tourist spending, extend stay durations, and reduce seasonality. The study also recommends enhancing local specifics in each region, in collaboration with local communities, institutions, and investors, and developing tourism products in areas such as culture, nature, business tourism, and events.
The Institute emphasizes the need to develop professional skills in the tourism sector by establishing regular monitoring of required professions and skills. It suggests adapting training to the actual needs of enterprises, particularly in digitalization, marketing, management, and environmental sustainability. The study also proposes developing short training programs and professional retraining.
The Institute stresses the importance of accelerating the digital transformation of tourism enterprises, especially small and medium-sized enterprises. This can be achieved by evaluating their digital maturity and developing the use of digital solutions in areas such as product promotion, booking, payment, customer communication, and distribution. The study also suggests facilitating access to artificial intelligence solutions, data, and digital technologies to reduce adoption costs.
According to the World Economic Forum's Travel and Tourism Development Index 2026, Tunisia ranks 82nd out of 110 economies, with a score of 3.62 out of 7. Although Tunisia ranks 10th in the Middle East and North Africa region, its score has remained almost stable compared to 2024. The Institute notes that the index measures factors and conditions that enable the development of a sustainable and resilient tourism sector, rather than directly measuring tourist arrivals or revenues.
The Arab Institute's proposals aim to address the challenges facing Tunisia's tourism sector and enhance its competitiveness. The study highlights the country's strengths, such as price competitiveness, security, and health and hygiene, and identifies areas for improvement, including air transport infrastructure, land transport infrastructure, and ports, as well as limited non-leisure resources.
Key points
- The Arab Institute for Heads of Enterprises proposes five key areas to develop Tunisia's tourism sector.
- The study emphasizes the importance of improving connections to tourist destinations and diversifying tourism products.
- Tunisia ranks 82nd out of 110 economies in the World Economic Forum's Travel and Tourism Development Index 2026.
