By contacting and organizing a presentation for about 20 Saudi traveling agencies, the Tunisian Ministry of Tourism is intensifying its attempts to lure Arab tourists to Tunisia. The Arab Gulf countries hold a market of 13 million tourists, who leave each year abroad and spend more than US$14 billion. These tourists represent an almost idle type of tourists since they have a very high purchasing power and since they tend to stay for a "sufficient" period in their hosting country.
Furthermore, the strict measures for granting visas imposed by many states following the 9/11 attacks, make these Arab tourists more attractive for countries like Tunisia.
Among the Arab countries, which already benefit from their proximity to the Arab Gulf market are Lebanon, where Arab tourists constitute 42% of the visitors, Morocco, where Arab tourists from the Gulf constitute 17% of the visitors and Egypt, where Arab tourism represents 20% of the sector in the country.
La Presse reports that this ongoing strategy to increase the number of Arab tourists coming from the Gulf region has already been proven successful and especially since these tourists prove to be 'the largest spenders per head' in Tunisian tourism.
