Tunisia Archives - Com Namibia

Cruise: Tunisia stop replaced by Italy — should the cruise line compensate the passenger? [ABO]

September 29, 2026 by Amara Nambinga

Croisière : une escale en Tunisie remplacée par l’Italie, la compagnie doit-elle indemniser la cliente ? - Depositphotos.com Auteur bloodua

CroisiEurope

A traveler has brought the Mediation a complaint following a modification of the itinerary of her Mediterranean cruise.

She argued that replacing a planned stop in Tunisia with a stop in Italy diminished the quality of her trip and sought compensation.

The passenger had booked a one-week Mediterranean cruise. The initial program included, among other components, a port of call at La Goulette in Tunisia. A few days before departure, the itinerary was altered and this stop was replaced with a Naples stop in Italy.

The traveler considered that this modification caused her to miss an important destination of her stay. She also argued that cruises offering an itinerary with a Naples stop were marketed at a lower price than what she had paid. She therefore requested a goodwill gesture of 300 euros.

The cruise company, for its part, refused any compensation, arguing that the modification did not justify a refund.

What the texts say:

To form her opinion, the Mediation relied on Article L. 211-16 of the Tourism Code, which provides that the organizer of a package tour is responsible for the proper execution of the services provided under the contract.

This same text specifies that when a significant portion of the services cannot be provided as agreed, the professional must offer replacement arrangements and, if those are of inferior quality, grant the traveler an appropriate price reduction.

In this case, replacing a stop at La Goulette with a Naples stop did not constitute a simple itinerary adjustment. It involved two destinations located in different countries, offering distinct tourist experiences.

What the Tourism and Travel Mediation recommends:

The Mediation thus considered that this modification concerned an important element of the trip and that the substitute service was of lower quality than initially planned.

Under these conditions, without calling into question the overall execution of the cruise, the Mediation deemed a price reduction justified. It recommended granting compensation equal to 15% of the cruise price to offset the itinerary change.

Find all the practical cases of the Tourism and Travel Mediation by clicking HERE.

Tunisia: Tourism Remains Resilient Despite Complex Economic Conditions

September 25, 2026 by Amara Nambinga

Sur le marché français, Mohamed Mehdi Haloui, directeur général de l’ONTT fait état d’une progression comprise entre 3 et 4 % du nombre d’arrivées depuis le début de l’année 2026. @cl

Climats du Monde

Tunisia confirms its resilience, but indicators call for nuance in the assessment. Through August 31, 2026, the destination records a slight decline of 0.2% in arrivals, across all markets, thus remaining almost at the level of the previous year.

“For the year 2026, in terms of arrivals, the situation is roughly stable,” summarizes Mohamed Mehdi Haloui, director general of the Tunisian National Tourism Office (ONTT).

On the French market, the ONTT’s director general reports a rise of between 3% and 4% since the start of the year. A positive result that must, however, be weighed against data from the Syndicate of Tour Operating Companies (Seto), which notes a 5.7% decline in departures to Tunisia this summer among its members.

Read also : Seto’s assessment: summer partly saves the year for TOs

The destination has had to contend with a complex backdrop, between tensions in the Middle East and episodes of extreme heat, which notably led to water outages.

France leads, the UK advances

France remains Tunisia’s top European source market. The United Kingdom now holds the second spot, closely followed by Poland and Germany.

“The UK market has progressed well and has taken the second place since the launch of a direct route with easyJet,” notes Mohamed Mehdi Haloui.

The Office is also looking to reconnect with some historical markets. Russia shows signs of recovery, though volumes remain modest.

“Before the war, Russia represented the second market for Tunisia after France, with more than 600,000 arrivals. In 2026 we recorded a modest rebound of the Russian market, but it is progressing,” says the ONTT’s director-general.

Air connectivity remains a central challenge. If the service to the French market is considered satisfactory, notably thanks to Tunisair, Nouvelair, and Transavia, the situation is more fragile on other markets.

A better level of connectivity would help better leverage opportunities linked to the regional context. The war in the Middle East reminded that Tunisia is not in a conflict, but the destination has not been able to fully capitalize on this situation. “We could have benefited more from this conjuncture if we had had better air connectivity”, says the ONTT’s director-general.

Alternative accommodations gain ground

Several hotel projects are coming to fruition, notably in Tozeur, Tabarka and Djerba. Tunisia is also seeing growing interest in alternative accommodations, such as guest rooms, rural cottages and tourist camps.

Regulated by regulatory texts since 2013, these offerings meet an increasing demand. “The sector is developing very well and responding to an ever-stronger demand from customers,” stresses Mohamed Mehdi Haloui, director general of the ONTT.

In Tozeur, a first establishment was inaugurated at the end of last year, while the Tozeur Plaza is due to open this year.

Diversifying the offer beyond beach tourism

Diversification is one of the Tunisian National Tourism Office’s priority axes. The destination aims to develop cultural tourism, well-being, golf, sports, and Saharan tourism.

“These are very interesting niches that we are trying to develop to attract a broader clientele,” explains the ONTT’s director-general.

To support these segments, the Office intends to encourage investment and strengthen marketing actions. It seeks to promote these experiences through institutional campaigns, tour operators, influencers, and digital initiatives.

The objective is to showcase a Tunisia that is not limited to beach tourism, which remains “highly valued” and continues to hold a major place in the tourism offering.

Thalassotherapy also remains an important asset. More broadly, health tourism is part of the sectors to be developed, thanks to the country’s medical expertise and its favorable pricing. The segment, however, progresses cautiously, notably due to regulatory difficulties.

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Encouraging winter outlooks

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Tunisia: Water and Electricity Outages Amid Extreme Heat

September 9, 2026 by Amara Nambinga

Tunisie affronte aussi des pénuries de bouteilles d'eau - Depositphotos

Hurtigruten

Summer of 2026 will be remembered across the Mediterranean basin.

Just like in France, Spain, and several other countries, Tunisia experienced an exceptionally hot summer season, with temperatures dangerously flirting with 50 degrees.

Already, the country logged July as the second hottest month since 1950.

Unfortunately, this summer is a harbinger of more episodes like this, a consequence of climate warming, as heat waves sweep across the other side of the Mediterranean.

Indeed, the thermometer is once again on an upward trend. Temperatures were expected on Thursday, August 7, to range between 45 and 48 °C. In Kairouan and Beja, the mercury again approached the 50-degree mark.

While these temperatures spell trouble for bodies, they also pose significant challenges for infrastructure.

Tunisia: drinking water and electricity outages

Numerous media outlets report rolling electricity blackouts across the country.

The objective, for the operator, the Tunisian Electricity and Gas Company (STEG), with these outages, is to “preserve the safety and continuity of the electrical system,” as explained in a post picked up by Webdo.

For the moment, STEG has not issued any statement to announce further load shedding.

Moreover, these outages have become a political issue, as the Tunisian president denounced “premeditated” disruptions intended to inflame the already high tensions in the country.

b[To read: Is climate tourism a thing?

A message that was not well received by the General Union of Tunisian workers in Sfax, a union denouncing Kaïs Saïed’s conspiratorial rhetoric, as reported by RFI.]

In response to this situation, anger is rising across the country, but protests and demonstrations remain poorly attended.

In these circumstances, the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs has updated its travel recommendations for those traveling to Tunisia.

Tunisia: a drop in temperatures coming

It is stated that, in order to protect a heavily strained electrical network due to the extreme heat, “the Tunisian Electricity and Gas Company may carry out temporary electricity cuts (load shedding).

The supply of potable water, whether from the tap or in bottled form, may also experience temporary disruptions.

It is therefore advised for travelers heading there to check their accommodation conditions and take precautions. A crisis that is compounded by shortages of bottled mineral water.

A situation that should fortunately not last.

According to Samir Khalfaoui, Director of Competition and Economic Investigations at the Ministry of Trade and Export Development, “the expected drop in temperatures in the coming days will allow production to resume its normal pace to meet the entire national demand.

The situation worsened quickly during July due to a scorching heat wave combined with disruptions to the bottling chain caused by power outages.

This situation led to the total depletion of stock reserves with wholesalers and factories, forcing the market to rely solely on daily production. The latter itself also slowed due to network faults, which explains the tensions and shortages now seen on shelves.

Indeed, the thermometer is expected to fall and hover around 30 degrees by the end of next week.

Tunisia: Fancy a Little Desert? [ABO]

July 2, 2026 by Amara Nambinga

Le désert réunit aujourd’hui toutes les valeurs chères à une société exaspérée par le progrès technologique, le chaos économique et surtout une géopolitique imprévisible - Photo : J.S.

CroisiEurope

Two and a half hours by plane from Paris, thanks to Transavia, and you’re plunged into another world.

A world of sand, pink bricks, dunes, stones, palm trees planted to infinity, from which hang generous clusters of dates considered among the most succulent in the country… and perhaps even in Africa.

Where have we landed? At the (recently renovated) Tozeur-Nefta airport, these two gateways to the great southern Tunisia, which, little by little, seek to surface in travel imaginations and to colonize them.

Not that these destinations have disappeared. Adored by the former Tunisian presidency, Tozeur and its neighbor have known moments of glory and, as early as the 1990s, have seen hotel signs rush in to set the scene for a new tourist destination.

It was a time when Tunisia already sought to diversify its offer.

Saturated on the coast and its beaches (especially appreciated by a French and European clientele), it aimed to develop saharan tourism as other destinations, notably its Maghreb neighbors, were doing.

Algeria was selling excursions into Tassili and Hoggar to trekking enthusiasts, while Morocco was discovering the magnetic draw of its southern reaches beyond Erfoud and Ouarzazate, along the Dra valleys and not far from the Merzouga dunes.

Even Libya began offering desert glamping stays…

The world would be simple if there were only the sky and the earth (A. Malraux)

Certainly, at the turn of the century, the Islamist threat was not yet what it has become.

But, in April 2002, the Djerba synagogue attack, followed by the 2015 attacks on the Bardo Museum and Sousse, were violent and spectacular enough to leave a mark on minds and deter a portion of the destination’s enthusiasts.

In 2015, arrivals fell by about 25% according to ministry figures, reaching their lowest level.

That shows how difficult it has been for the country to rebound and regain the trust of vacationers. Notably French, deemed more cautious than average.

Medical tourism, thalassotherapy, overall well-being, events, sports… There was even talk of Tozeur hosting the second edition of the International Sahara and Oasis Tourism Fair – ISSOT – which was ultimately canceled even though it was meant to contribute to developing tourism in the southern regions by creating new circuits that included archaeological sites still little known!

Tourist arrivals in Tunisia from 2019 to 2025

– 2019: 7,984,596 foreign visitors and 1,444,000 Tunisians living abroad ;

– 2023: 8,134,000 foreign visitors and 1,236,000 Tunisians living abroad ;

– 2025: 9,921,000 foreign visitors and 1,405,000 Tunisians living abroad, for a total of 11,326,000 visitors, including 1,078,000 arrivals from France.

Between dunes and lakes, between oasis and mountains

Fortunately, this defection has not been enough to penalize the landscapes and sublime sites that any visitor can discover on their own or by using the services of a tour operator paired with a receptive agency.

Beyond carriage rides through the oases and palm groves under which it is pleasant to sip a traditional drink while one is guided through the workings of what represents the first local industry: the date, it is especially recommended to leave the capital to immerse oneself in the totally unexpected landscapes of the mountain oases – Chebika, Mides and Tamerza – which can be reached by bus or 4×4 and explored carefully in a maze of gravel, crevassed with gorges and canyons.

The salt lakes from which mirages rise, the gradient of colors tinting the landscape, the rocks and the multitude of desert roses drawn from the depths of the earth, the magic of silence… constitute the first stages of an exploration that can descend much further south toward Tataouine or to the east toward Matmata… and can be done on foot for the more courageous, with nights in bivouac and Saharan staging, as shaped by Western desert imagery.

Dunes, camels, sunsets, Bedouins… And, silence, purity, space, close contact with nature, a minimalist and primitive aesthetic. The desert today gathers all the values dear to a society exasperated by technological progress, economic chaos, and above all an unpredictable geopolitics.

In search of a simple world, humanity seeks its roots and attempts to reconnect with the authenticity of a lost universe where man walked in harmony with God.

Dream hotels and unlimited spas

So shall we go?

According to the regional tourism commissioner, there were up to 16 direct weekly flights to reach Tozeur, including two from Madrid, two from Italy, and the rest from France.

Today, besides the two weekly Transavia flights from Paris, one must fly to Djerba and reach Tozeur in 4 or 5 hours by road. One can also fly to Tunis and then take an internal flight with Tunisair.

Josette Sicsic, journalist, consultant, lecturer, has been observing the world’s changes for more than 25 years to analyze their impact on the tourism sector.

After developing the Touriscopie journal for over 20 years, she remains at the forefront of current events, decoding the present to forecast the future. On the site www.tourmag.com, in the Futuroscopie section, she publishes prospecting and analytical articles several times a week.

Contact: 06 14 47 99 04

Email: [email protected]