London, UK: The World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) 2024 Economic Impact Research (EIR) has today revealed that Tunisia’s Travel & Tourism sector is set to inject a record-breaking TND 23BN into the national economy this year.
The latest data shows that across its economic contribution, job numbers, and domestic visitor spending, Travel & Tourism is expected to surpass all previous records this year.
Although international visitor spending isn’t anticipated to fully recover this year, the global tourism body expects it will come within touching distance of the 2019 peak.
According to the data, Travel & Tourism’s economic contribution will represent 14% of the overall economy this year, while sector jobs are projected to grow 3.9% year-on-year to reach almost 418,000 - accounting for one in nine jobs.
Domestic visitor spending is anticipated to grow 5% from last year to reach TND 11.7BN - 0.7% ahead of 2019.
Although international visitor spending is expected to grow more than 12% to reach almost TND 11BN, this will still be nearly 9% behind 2019 levels.
Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said; "Tunisia's Travel & Tourism sector has almost fully recovered, with domestic and sector-wide contributions exceeding all previous records.
“While international visitor spending is still catching up, we are confident that Tunisia's resilient sector will continue to thrive and play a vital role in the nation's economic future."
The reestablishment of the Higher Council of Tourism by the Tunisian Government will further help Travel & Tourism achieve these forecasts as it brings together the public and private sector, ensuring collaboration across interested parties.
What Does Last Year Look Like?
According to the latest research, the sector’s contribution to Tunisia’s GDP surged almost 24% year-on-year to reach nearly TND 21BN.
Jobs supported by Travel & Tourism grew almost 10% to reach more than 402,000, representing almost 11.5% of jobs in the country.
Domestic visitor spending increased more than 7% year-on-year to reach more than TND 11BN.
International visitor spending saw a strong 48.8% year-on-year growth last year, to reach TND 9.6BN, but this was still almost 19% behind the 2019 peak.
What Does the Next Decade Look Like?
With the right government support, WTTC is forecasting that the sector could grow its annual GDP contribution to more than TND 32BN by 2034, representing 16% of Tunisia’s economy, and could potentially employ over 485,000 people across the country.
What Does the Region Look Like?
Across North Africa, the Travel & Tourism sector is forecast to contribute TND225.7BN to the regional economy this year, accounting for 8.5% of the total. Sector-supported jobs are expected to rise to 5.3MN, representing 1 in 11 jobs across the region.
Domestic visitor spending is projected to reach TND97.5BN, whilst international visitor spending is anticipated to reach TND101.9BN this year.
See all the data in our Tunisia Travel & Tourism Economic Impact Research on the WTTC Research Hub.
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Editors Notes
This cutting-edge research was carried out in partnership with Oxford Economics. All values are in constant 2023 prices and exchange rates, as reported in March 2024. All figures are given in TND.
The North African economies referenced in the regional data are Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia.