Roundup: Tunisia bids to revive tourism amid impact of terrorist attack

A week after the deadly attack on a hotel in Sousse which resulted in the death of 38 tourists and over 38 injured, the Tunisian Ministry of Tourism organized a minute of silence Friday on the beach where the incident happened.

On Thursday evening, the Tunisian government held an international Iftar, or Ramadan sunset dinner, which was attended by hundreds of politicians, officials, activists, national leaders, and family members of some of the victims of the attack.

President Beji Caid Essebsi, Prime Minister Habib Essid and other high-ranking officials were present at the international Iftar, alongside with Imams, Tunis grand rabbi and priests from the Catholic churches of Tunis, symbolizing solidarity of different religions against terrorism.

Minister of Tourism Salma Elloumi considered the attack as "a catastrophe that hit Tunisia in its core."

Tunisia's touristic revenue witnessed a 15 percent decrease from January to May 2015, in comparison with 2014, according to the official statistics.

These rates are expected to drop even lower following the attack on June 26, as Tunisia's economy was still in the process of recovering after the Bardo museum attack in March.

Last Monday, Elloumi announced exceptional measures in dealing with the aftermath of the attack and its irreversible effects on Tunisia's tourism sector.

The urgent decisions targeted hotels, resorts, travel agencies and touristic destinations and facilities in the country.

They include reporting loan payments of 2015 and 2016, making loan payments depend on each institution's capacities, providing new loans with a deadline or repayment up to seven years, lowering taxes from 12 percent to eight percent, providing social welfare for employees of touristic institutions, and giving grants to employees who lose their jobs following the attack.

In addition to addressing the direct consequences of the incident, collateral damage demands broader mid-term and long-term solutions to revive tourism in Tunisia.

Promoting internal tourism and expanding touristic attraction to new countries seem to be among the state's priorities in its new strategy.

Elloumi announced a 30 percent reduction of transportation fees, through air or sea via the state's airline and maritime line, for Tunisians living abroad, in order to encourage them to visit Tunisia more often.

Citizens of China, India, Iran and Jordan are now allowed to obtain an automatic visa upon entry in Tunisia; and investors and businessmen from the same countries are now eligible for a one-year multiple entry visa.

Moreover, visas upon entry for citizens from Angola, Burkina-Faso, Botswana, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Cyprus were completely canceled.

Additionally, Mohamed Toumi, president of the Tunisian League of Travel Agencies, suggested the necessity of encouraging Algerian tourists to come to Tunisia through providing more ports of entry between the two countries. Toumi also recommends providing "leisure loans" for Tunisian citizens in order for them to use touristic facilities.

"The marketing process of Tunisia's tourism needs a lot of work," said economic expert Faycel Derbel in an interview. "Tunisia's chances to survive this stage are very high, given its remarkable position in the world," he added.

Attracting Arab tourists to come to Tunisia is an important solution, according to economic expert Ridha Chekandali. "Having Arab tourists visit Tunisia is feasible, unlike European tourists who were negatively affected by the incident," he said.

Prime Minister Essid also announced exceptional security measures in order to protect hotels, resorts and touristic facilities.

He explained that security guards and agents guarding beach areas and hotels are to receive intense training to improve their performance, and learn the necessary skills in case of terrorist threats.

"Over 1300 armed security agents have been added to guard hotels and resorts," said Kamel Jendoubi, spokesperson of the crisis cell at the prime minister office on Thursday. "We're aiming at having two armed guards inside each hotel, and two more outside each hotel at the beach area," he said.

In addition to these measures, Prime Minister Essid, President Essebsi and Interior Minister Najem Gharsalli have announced urgent security procedures in a crack down on terrorism.

"Our war against terrorism is a long war," Jendoubi said on Thursday. "We might lose a few battles but eventually we will win the war."

On June 26, Seifeddine Rezgui, a 23-year-old student, attacked the Marhaba hotel in Sousse with a Kalashnikov rifle, killing 38 tourists, mostly British nationals, and injuring 38 more, before being shot dead by security agents. The Islamic State section of Libya has claimed responsibility for the attack. Endit