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| Tunisia tourism revenues reached Billion Dinars in Half Year |
Tunisia’s cumulative tourism revenues reached 3.352 billion dinars, approximately $1.13 billion, during the first half of 2026, which ended on June 30, marking an increase compared to the same period last year.
Daily monetary and financial indicators issued by the Central Bank of Tunisia and published by the Tunisian News Agency on Saturday showed that revenues increased by 141.2 million dinars (about $47.7 million), compared to about 3.211 billion dinars, or about $1.09 billion, during the first half of 2025.
Thus, tourism revenues recorded growth of approximately 4.4% year-on-year, an indicator that reflects the continued recovery of the sector and its ability to provide additional foreign currency resources during the first six months of the year.
Increasing tourism revenues is of particular importance to the Tunisian economy, given the sector’s role in supporting foreign exchange reserves, financing imports, and easing pressure on the current account.
The World Bank had indicated that improved tourism revenues, along with improved terms of trade, contributed to reducing Tunisia’s current account deficit to 1.7% of GDP in 2024, highlighting the sector’s impact on the country’s external financial balances.
The impact of tourism is not limited to direct income from hotels and accommodation, as it extends to transportation, restaurants, traditional industries, trade and services, making the improvement of tourism activity a supporting factor for a wide range of sectors.
The World Bank describes tourism as one of the key sectors of the Tunisian economy, benefiting from the Mediterranean coast and the country's historical and cultural sites.
According to a World Bank presentation on sustainable tourism in Tunisia, the sector contributes more than 13% of GDP and supports around 350,000 jobs, a large proportion of which are concentrated in coastal areas.
These figures reflect the extent to which the Tunisian economy depends on tourism activity in generating income and job opportunities.
The growth in tourism revenues also provides an important resource at a time when the country needs to boost its foreign currency reserves, cover energy and basic material expenses, and service external obligations.
The increase in revenues comes as the summer tourist season reaches its peak, reinforcing industry expectations of continued growth during the second half of 2026, which typically sees the bulk of bookings and revenues.
Tunisia expects to exceed the 12 million tourist mark this year, after receiving about 11 million visitors in 2025, according to statements made by the Minister of Tourism and Traditional Industries, Sofiane Tekaya, during the opening of the first session of the Tunisian Travel Market Salon last May.
The sector seeks to build on the figures recorded last year when tourism revenues reached about 8.097 billion dinars, by expanding promotional campaigns, attracting new markets and raising the average spending per visitor, instead of relying on increasing the number of tourists alone.
