According to reports from officials, Tunisia’s tourism sector has collapsed, with losses exceeding 60 percent. The reports indicate huge swathes of hotels at risk of closing permanently.
Tourism Minister Habib Ammar told reporters recently that losses in the sector could reach 70 percent before year’s end.
A small Mediterranean country in North Africa, Tunisia has about 40,000 coronavirus cases since March for a population of only 11 million.
Just yesterday, EU officials said Tunisia may be added to a growing list of countries whose citizens should be able to travel to the bloc. Germany has already added Tunisia and Georgia to their list.
Meanwhile, Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi has given regional governors across the authority to impose nightly curfews.
The International Monetary Fund expects Tunisia’s economy to contract by 4.3% in 2020 due to the pandemic. Such a setback will be the worst recession the country has suffered since citizens there gained independence in 1956.