Tunisia: Mass tourism in crisis?

Successive governments in post-colonial Tunisia have sought to develop mass tourism as an avenue for social and economic development. Political instability and increasing media coverage have more recently led to a dramatic reduction in foreign tourist arrivals. Tunisia provides insights into the intersections of modernity, mass tourism, authoritarianism and terrorism, and in a world marred by terrorist attacks it becomes increasingly important to analyse the specific contexts from which these emerge. This chapter aims to address some of these issues by evaluating mass tourism development in Tunisia, highlighting the social and economic advances Tunisia has achieved, before analysing the situation since the ‘Jasmine Revolution’of 2011. In order to fully analyse mass tourism in Tunisia, we draw on our own experience, which includes over 30 years of research in Tunisia, and fieldwork carried out shortly after the March 2015 Bardo Museum attack in the capital city Tunis. Finally, the chapter looks towards the future of mass tourism in Tunisia, arguing that while mass tourism has delivered positive advances, if it is to continue to do so the industry must be diversified and adapted to meet new needs.