Tunisia’s tourism sector is witnessing a strong rebound in 2025, with 5.297mn tourists visiting the country by July 20, marking a 9.8% year-on-year (y/y) increase compared to the same period in 2024, Erem News reported on August 2, citing Mehdi Helloui, Director General of the National Tourism Office. 

The figure also represents a 16.2% y/y rise over 2019 levels, the last pre-pandemic benchmark, according to Helloui.

Tunisia received around 9.7mn tourists in 2024, up from around 9.37mn in 2023. Tourism revenues reached over TND 7.05bn ($2.2bn), marking a 7.8% y/y rise. Tourism contributed roughly 9% of Tunisia’s GDP and supported nearly 400,000 jobs in 2024.

According to the Central Bank of Tunisia, tourism revenues have reached TND 3.998bn ($1.28bn), an 8.2% y/y rise compared to the same period last year. Hotel occupancy also rose, with 12.36mn overnight stays (+7.1%) and a 35.3% overall occupancy rate, up 2.1 points from 2024.

The majority of tourists visiting Tunisia come from neighbouring and European countries, including France, Britain and Northern Ireland (UK), Germany and Italy, according to previous government data. 

The European market led growth, with a 10.7% y/y increase to 1.592mn. Key contributors included France (+9.6%), UK (46.9%), Italy (11.6%), Switzerland (17.6%) and Ireland (97%). 

The Maghreb market also grew by 9.8%, recording 2.748mn visitors, 1.459 mn Algerians and 1.246mn Libyans. Other markets showed modest growth, including US (+4.9%), Canada (+7.5%), and China (+15%). 

Meanwhile, Tunisians' visits abroad rose by 7.5% y/y in the same period, totalling over 805,000.

Domestic tourism now accounts for 30% of total tourism activity, with plans to launch a digital hotel booking platform for Tunisian citizens soon. In addition, tourism investment intentions hit TND 943mn by the end of July, surpassing the full-year total for 2024.