The decision to reopen the Tunisian-Algerian borders on July 15, taken jointly at the end of the visit of the President of the Republic Kaïs Saïed to Algeria to attend the commemorative festivities of the 60e anniversary of independence, quickly boosted the reservations of Algerians, eager to spend their holidays in Tunisia. The borders between Algeria and Tunisia have been closed since 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, thus impacting tourism in Tunisia, knowing that the number of tourists who spend their holidays in Tunisia reached 3 million before the health crisis and where the Algerian-Tunisian borders were open only to the movement of transport of goods.
Professionals in the tourism sector can breathe a big sigh of relief. After the closure of the borders with Algeria for almost three years, Tunisia has seen its tourism decline, especially since in such a season, hundreds of thousands of Algerian families enter Tunisia, monopolizing around 9% of the reservation market in hotels in Tunisia and almost a quarter of seasonal receipts. Tunisian operators welcomed this decision and worked hard to ensure the best reception conditions for Algerian tourists. The president of the Tunisian Federation of Travel and Tourism Agencies (FTAV), Ahmed Bettaieb, described the reopening of borders as “a real deliverance for the tourism sector and for all tourist activities”. According to him, the number of reservations has increased considerably, “especially in Sousse, Tabarka and Hammamet”. This, although “tourism is not limited only to hotels”, since many Algerians opt for other forms of stay in Tunisia. Moreover, in several regions of the country, Tunisians are beginning to fit out their houses for rental, especially since Algerians are among the first customers to opt for this formula.
Le grand rush
Last Friday was the big rush of Algerian tourists to Tunisia. Tunisians (professionals, hoteliers and citizens, etc.) were satisfied with the significant flows of Algerians from the first day of the reopening of the borders. Need we remind you that “nine land crossings” between Algeria and Tunisia will be open to passengers. A measure taken in order not to create congestion at the same border post.
Anxious to recover a loyal clientele which numbers in the millions, the supervising ministry very quickly got into the saddle to guarantee the reception of Algerian tourists whose professionals have not ceased to demand their return by calling for the opening of land borders, bearing in mind that most travel is by road. The recovery with the opening of land crossings should allow Tunisia to welcome a third of the number of Algerian tourists registered before 2020 (3 million), according to forecasts by the National Union of Algerian Tourist Agencies. The latter revealed that “no less than one million Algerian tourists will visit Tunisia this summer, following the decision to open the borders from mid-July”. The offers were selected and presented by the tourist agencies as soon as the opening of the borders was announced. This means that the agencies “waited for this decision for months in order to prepare the launch of their competitive offers in various Tunisian cities which the Algerians lacked”, according to a representative of the Union.
A saving breath
For his part, the representative of the Tunisian Tourist Office in Algeria, Fouad El Oued, specifies that this joint decision to open the land borders to travelers favors “a great commercial mobility in the border areas as well as in the tourist areas in Tunisia. “, a country which remains, he added, “the first destination of Algerians”.
In this sense, he did not fail to note that “94% of Algerians who visit Tunisia prefer to enter by land”. Mohamed Amine Berredjem, president of the National Association of Travel Agencies, said that this decision “will give a lifesaving breath to tourist agencies but also to Algerians who really need a vacation worthy of the name following two difficult years”.
On the Algerian side, feelings are more mixed. They fear a massive influx of Tunisians who come to shop, resold overpriced in Tunisia. Foodstuffs, computer products and household appliances will become scarce and their prices will increase. Service stations will reconnect with endless queues and fuel shortages.
