President of the Republic Kais Saied met on Monday at the Palace of Carthage with Minister of Tourism Mohamed Moez Belhassine.
The President called for developing the tourism sector, which is a major source of revenue for the Tunisian state, second only to remittances from the Tunisians living aboard, “so that this sector does not remain hostage to beaches and sunshine,” as he put it.
According to a video posted by the Presidency of the Republic, Saied also called for Tunisian tourism to be diverse and different from what it has always been, and to avoid images that “harm the dignity of Tunisia and its people” when welcoming foreign tourists.
In this context, Saied criticised the way in which foreign tourists are greeted with dancing and ululations, which he described as “awful manifestations and a violation of the dignity of Tunisians”. He called on the private companies in charge of these receptions to carry out these activities in their private spaces and not in public.
He also considered that the option of the tourism sector, adopted since the 1960s, was “wrong” and that the resources allocated to it could be used to promote the agricultural sector. The tourism sector ultimately benefits the travel agencies, more than Tunisia.
The President of the Republic noted that tourism has become a kind of “overnight shelter” where everything is available at the cheapest prices, seeing that a foreign tourist who spends a week or more in the most luxurious hotels in Tunisia pays much less than a Tunisian tourist.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse