Roundup: Tunisia tries to restore national image after deadly museum attack

Tunisia has been actively restoring its national image after the attack on the National Bardo Museum, attempting to revive its crucial tourism industry, local media said on Friday.

The museum raid, which left 23 people dead and over 50 others injured, was the most deadly one since Tunisia's independence from France in 1956. The Islamic State group later claimed responsibility for the attack.

While Tunisian authorities were investigating on the identities of the attackers, local citizens spontaneously began mending the spotted image of the historic North African country, according to local media Tunis Times.

Scores of people holding candles prayed at the entrance of the museum these days, and many more others launched a "Je suis Bardo (I am Bardo)" campaign on the social media, condemning the terror acts, while voicing support for their home country.

"I'm proud of being a Tunisian and I am not afraid of the despicable terrorists," Yasmine Hashmi, a student in coastal city of Sousse, said, adding that she has confidence that the government will hunt down all extremists.

A French tourist, Sophie, however, voiced her concerns to Xinhua that the terror attack reminded her of the Charlie Hebdo massacre and she will think thoroughly before coming again.

Tunisia is seen as the only country which survived the political turmoil raging through the Middle East in late 2010 and established a democratic system after the political transition.

Its tourism industry, accounting for seven percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), was seen as a major engine boosting its economy.

Since last year, the Tunisian Tourism Ministry has arranged a series of programs to attract tourists, including desert concert in Tozeur and graffiti show in Djerba island, and is planning to design a fire-balloon tour near Sousse.

The number of tourists visiting Tunisia has been on a rise by an average 12.5 percent from 2011 to 2013 after the toppling of the late leader Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, but has never returned to the peak of 7.05 million in 2008, the ministry said, adding that about 6.07 million tourists visited the country in 2014.

Before the museum incident, the fear of jihadists had been already the main reason that tourists opted for other countries like Morocco, analysts said, adding that the museum raid was seen as setback for Tunisia's efforts to keep extremism at bay and might overshadow the future of the country.

Mohsen Marzouk, an adviser to Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi, said the attack on Bardo museum aimed at harming the Tunisian economy. "We are now in a war with terrorism and it will be a long one." Endit