Tunisian Tourism Minister, Sufian Tkaia, announced that the country's tourism sector is experiencing growth and transformation. He emphasized that the new tourism model focuses on diversifying and improving quality, innovation, and impact on development. The strategy prioritizes valorizing regional cultural heritage, with a "region and product" approach. This aims to enhance tourist offerings and increase the sector's value-added.
Minister Tkaia outlined that the Tourism Ministry has developed a special program to valorize the cultural stock of regions and areas. This program seeks to diversify tourist products, improve competitiveness, and expand the sector's impact on the economy and development. He stressed that while international rankings and indicators are important, they are not an end in themselves. Instead, the focus is on the sector's impact on the national economy, job creation, and tourist satisfaction.
The Minister highlighted Tunisia's diverse tourism products, including coastal areas, historical cities, archaeological sites, deserts, oases, islands, cultural and artistic heritage, traditional industries, and potential for cultural, environmental, sports, business, medical, and wellness tourism. He noted that Tunisia has moved beyond simply promoting these assets to transforming them into investable and marketable products.
Tkaia emphasized the importance of the Arab media in promoting Tunisia's tourism sector, particularly in the context of Tunisia being named the Arab Tourism Capital in 2027. He noted that the Arab Radio Union plays a strategic role in this effort, including coverage of events and the launch of a digital platform to promote the Tunisian destination.
The Minister discussed the partnership between the Tourism Ministry and the Arab Radio Union, which includes a special program to cover events and activities related to Tunisia's Arab Tourism Capital status. This program features the launch of a digital platform, participation of startups in digital tourism, influencers, content creators, and media professionals.
Tkaia stressed the need to focus on the qualitative aspect of tourism, ensuring year-round activity. He highlighted that Tunisia offers more than just beach tourism, with various products representing strengths for the destination. These include cultural and artistic heritage, traditional industries, and potential for cultural, environmental, sports, business, medical, and wellness tourism.
The Minister concluded that Tunisia aims to diversify its markets and attract new segments of tourists, including Arab tourists. He emphasized that the media plays a strategic role in promoting the Tunisian destination and its diverse products. The goal is to create a more sustainable and impactful tourism sector that benefits the country's economy and regions.
Key points
- Tunisian tourism sector is evolving with a focus on cultural heritage and diversification.
