Tunisia's tourism sector bounced back this year with 8.8 million visitors, breaking pre-pandemic records and earning the country over $2.1 billion (two billion euros), Aymen Rahmani, director of studies and cooperation at the Tunisian national tourism office, said Thursday.
Most visitors to the North African country came from nearby Algeria, around 2.7 million this year, followed by 2.1 million Libyans and 974,000 French visitors, according to the country's tourism office.
"Our goal was to get back to 80% of tourism flow recorded in 2019," the official noted.
As of December 10, "Tunisia has exceeded this goal" with 8.8 million visitors compared to 8.7 million over the same period of 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, said Rahmani.
"If we keep the same trend, by the end of 2023, we will reach 9.6 million visitors," he added.
Tourism revenues had reached $2.1 billion (6.7 billion Tunisian dinars), said Rahmani, who added that they could reach $2.2 billion (6.9 billion dinars) by the end of 2023.
The COVID-19 pandemic, along with 2015 deadly jihadist attacks in Tunis and Sousse, negatively affected the country's tourism sector.
Visitors from Algeria headed the list with 2.7 million this year, followed by 2.1 million Libyans and 974,000 French visitors, according to the country's tourism office.