Tunisia enters summer season with record ambitions, but bookings show early caution

Tunisia is heading into the summer season with a target of more than 12 million visitors in 2026, after receiving over 11 million last year.

Tourism Minister Sofiane Tekaya said in May that Algerian, Libyan and domestic visitors account for more than half of Tunisia’s tourism flows.

Hotels have moved early on pricing. Tekaya said some establishments offered discounts of up to 55 percent to attract Tunisian, Algerian and Libyan visitors before the peak season.

The French market has shown weaker early signals. La Presse reported on 19 May, citing L’Écho Touristique and the Orchestra barometer, that bookings to Tunisia had slowed at the start of the summer season. Reservations from France fell by 25.7 percent in March compared with the same period last year, before declining by around 10 percent in April.

The same report cited weaker daily booking flows in Djerba, while noting that operators were not reporting a wave of cancellations.

UN Tourism said global tourist arrivals rose by 2 percent in the first quarter of 2026. It cited the Middle East crisis among the disruptions affecting travel in March.

Business News reported in April that Tunisian authorities had launched a national inventory and inspection campaign covering hotels and tourism activities ahead of summer 2026.

Some regions have announced their own preparations. In Tozeur, local authorities outlined measures on security, hygiene and service quality before the summer period.

The season will now turn on late bookings, border traffic from Algeria and Libya, and whether discounted offers can push occupancy high enough to meet the government’s record target.