The Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), has estimated that Tunisia will be receiving more than 7 million tourists this year after having a closed a door meeting with caretaker Prime Minister Larayedh in the buildup towards the meeting of the agency’s African commission.
Secretary General Taleb Rifai appreciated the government’s effort to revive the sector which he described to be similar to “inexhaustible oil resources” and continues to serve as “the main locomotive of development.” The mechanisms used to estimate the arrival of “over 7 million tourists in 2013” were not presented during the press conference but he hailed Tunisia’s natural and cultural peculiarities, and the qualified human resources the country provides within the sector.
Tunisia is dedicated to take its tourism sector back to its glorious days, and Prime Minister Larayedh said they are interested in bidding for the UNWTO executive bureau, which will be renewed before the end of the year. For the time being, they have to focus on successfully hosting the 54th meeting of the UNWTO Commission for Africa, which will begin on Wednesday.
More than 20 African tourism ministers are expected for the two-day event, with tourism experts and financial institutions also present to discuss the faith of tourism on the continent, and the mechanisms needed to overcome its obstacles.
The African continent attracted only 52 million tourists, a mere 5% of world’s tourist flow in 2012, which generated revenues estimated around $38 billion. Secretary General Rifai said Tunisia’s desire to host the meeting outlines “its place of choice at the Arab, African and Mediterranean scale in the different sectors, including notably tourism.”