70% of Tunisian hotels have expressed their intention to close their doors, due to the deadly terrorist attacks which have scared off foreign tourists, announced Houssem Ben Azouz, an official of the Confederation of Tunisian Corporate Citizens (CONECT), an employer’s organisation created in 2011.

Mr. Ben Azouz, who presides over the group of professional tourism within CONECT, equally claimed that the Tunisian tourist industry "is experiencing an impasse which will last from three to four years", underlining the necessity of starting structural reforms based on the diversification of tourist products and innovation.

"We have identified 12 tourist products with high development potential, in a sector which can no longer only rely on seaside tourism and the hotel industry but must promote other branches", he revealed, notably citing alternative accommodation (guest houses, farm inns ...), health tourism (balneology, thalassotherapy, medical), business tourism and cultural tourism.

The tourism sector, which is going through a severe crisis since the attacks on the Bardo museum in Tunis in March (22 deaths) and at Sousse in June (38 deaths), is a pillar of the Tunisian economy. It represents more than 10% of the country's GDP and directly or indirectly employs some 400,000 people.