Tunisia

My first visit to Tunisia was in 1973 and the most recent in October 2005. What has changed in more than thirty years, there is of course the economic aspect: people in general are better off even though the population has doubled in period of time. The principal source of revenue for Tunisia is tourism and as a result hotels have mushroomed all over the country. In 1973 Tozeur was a grubby isolated and very small village, now renamed the Gateway to the Sahara with modern tourist hotels and a host of agencies promising Safari type adventures.

The same can be said for Djerba, which now boasts kilometre of all inclusive hotels along its southern shoreline.

The twenty odd visits I made to the country were for both business and family vacations. Business has evolved in the same way as tourism, today Tunisia boasts electronic assembly plants, a thriving textile sector, and a burgeoning service industry. Modern airports have sprung up, motorways service all large towns and industries. The countries resources include phosphate production and mining, the agricultural sector depends on the hazards of the countries climat, Mediterranean to the north and Saharian to the south.

The population is amongst the best educated in Africa with most people speaking French and and in the tourist zones English.

Politics are tightly controlled by President Ben Ali with an ongoing struggle from the advocates of freedom of the press and free speech, this however, little effects tourists or passing business people.

The country with its tourist infrastructure is safe and pleasant to visit. In terms of real-estate more and more Europeans are in aquiring second homes along the coast with its resorts and marinahs.