TUNIS: UK tour operator Thomas Cook’s bankruptcy may not spell the end of tourism in Tunisia, but highlights the need to diversify the sector beyond all-inclusive holidays.
The demise of the package giant comes as Tunisia recovers from a three-year tourism lull after terror attacks in 2015 killed dozens of tourists.
The attacks on a museum and beach resort killed 30 Britons among 38 holiday makers, sending an industry that employed tens of thousands of people into a tailspin.
But the sector has since rebounded on the back of improved security, with an expected record total of nine million visitors to the Mediterranean country for 2019.
Thomas Cook returned to Tunisia last year, before collapsing Monday.
The tour operator’s fallout has left some $66 million in hotel bills unpaid, according to initial estimates by the Tunisian federation of hoteliers.
But federation head Khaled Fakhfakh said he did not think losses would severely impact a sector back on track eight years after an uprising toppled dictator Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali.
“Nationwide, tourism receipts have exceeded those for 2010,” a reference point in the industry, he said. “The losses won’t affect this performance.”
The bankrupcy is set to affect around 40 hotels, says Fakhfakh.
An employee at a travel agency, who asked to remain anonymous, said tourism would again recover.
“It will be tough, but not insurmountable,” he said.
After the 2015 attacks, “for three years, Thomas Cook had more or less left the country but we learnt to bounce back.”
This year, Thomas Cook had organized for 230,000 holidaymakers — around half from the UK — to visit Tunisia.
That represented around 3.5 percent of all tourists to the country, and 5 percent of the European market.
Some 10,000 holidaymakers are now slowly being flown home as their stays come to an end.
The UK and Belgium are repatriating nationals, Tunisian authorities have said. Beyond unpaid bills, up to 40,000 trips planned for the rest of the year have been cancelled.
But in a country where three quarters of tourists are brought in by tour operators, the crisis has also renewed calls for the sector — which accounts for around 7 percent of gross domestic product — to broaden its horizons.
Despite an increase in arrivals, the sector remains fragile, with banking sources estimating its debt at $1.5 billion last year.
“It’s a model that has started to tire,” tourism expert Hedi Hamdi said.
From booking a cheap flight and local transport to browsing accommodation and leisure options online, Tunisia is still struggling to provide for tourists who do not want to end up stuck on an organized holiday.
