【Record】Mr. Anouar Chetoui, Chief Rept. of Tunisian National Tourist Office Beijing delivers a speech at the forum of Tourism as a Catalyst for the Revitalization of the World Economy

Moderator: Our next lecturer is from Tunisia, a country in North Africa. There are many tourist attractions in the Mediterranean region, such as France, Italy, Spain, and Egypt. Tunisia is a relatively new tourist country for tourists from China and other Asian countries. So is there any possibility that we could combine Tunisia with other countries in North Africa to launch a travel package?

Mr. Anouar Chetoui, Chief Rept. of Tunisian National Tourist Office Beijing

Moderator: Mr. Anouar, you live in Being now, right? How many years have you been here? Could you tell me how your country plans to promote itself as a tourist attraction to the Chinese market? And is it possible that Tunisia can be combined with some tourist countries in North Africa to form a packaged travel route?

Anouar: Thank you very much for your question. I'm happy, too. Indeed, our Tunisia is a North African country to the south of Europe and in the Mediterranean region. It has beautiful seashores, beaches and deserts. Part of the Sahara is also within our territory. Many Chinese tourists also like the scenery of the Sahara Desert. We also have many cultural heritage sites listed by UNESCO. Since the 1970s, we have been vigorously developing this industry. In 2019, we received more than 9 million tourists. We have only 11 million citizens. It can be seen from these figures that most of our tourists come from Europe and Russia. From about 2012 onwards, we began to welcome more and more Chinese tourists. In 2017, we began to implement the visa-free policy for Chinese tourists. Returning to your question, we really hope to set up a tourist route in other countries around us, especially in North Africa. For example, we can connect with France, because we can travel from France to Tunisia in two hours. It takes only 35 minutes from Rome to Tunisia. We are very close. This also gives us a good opportunity to package our products, to make them more attractive and organize tours of these routes.

Moderator: Is there a cruise service? What routes do Tunisia have to connect with Egypt and Italy via cruise ships?

Anouar: We have cruise ships, such as those from Spain to Tunisia, France to Tunisia, Marseille to Tunisia, and Italy to Tunisia.

Moderator: How long does it usually take?

Anouar: Almost 3 days, because the distance is very short.

Moderator: In this way, people can enjoy the magnificent coastal scenery and rich cultural traditions, right?

Anouar: Yes.

Host: What is the official language of Tunisia?

Anouar: Our mother tongue is Arabic and we also speak French. French and English are spoken throughout Tunisia. As you can see, a quarter of our population can speak some German and Italian, and our languages are quite diversified.

Moderator: I hope I can visit Tunisia in the future. I haven't been there.

Anouar: Welcome, welcome.

Moderator: Thank you very much. Thank you for your speech. Tunisia, as a destination in North Africa, has a very good cultural and natural landscape. Of course, Tunisia can also form joint tours with some neighboring countries, including Italy or other countries across the Mediterranean. They can be cruise tours.