- Title: Tunisian beach resorts face up to coronavirus blight
- Date: 15th March 2020
- Summary: VARIOUS OF OWNER OF SOUVENIRS SHOP, AMMAR JOUINI, REARRANGING ITEMS ON DISPLAY (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) OWNER OF SOUVENIRS SHOP, AMMAR JOUINI, SAYING: "Up until this moment we have no customers, I think of closing the shop. I'm thinking of looking for another job to earn my living." JOURNALIST ASKING: "Why?" "Because there are no customers, all bookings are cancelled, flights are suspended, and all because of this disease (coronavirus), may God protect us all." HOTEL EMPLOYEE FIXING BEACH BEDS EMPTY BEACH BEDS MAN DRIVING HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) CARRIAGE DRIVER, RAMADAN, SAYING: "There is no tourism, there is nothing. This disease has been a disaster for the people. People can no longer afford food, people are in need and don't know what to do, they don't know where they are heading." RAMADAN DRIVING HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) CARRIAGE DRIVER, RAMADAN, SAYING: "If I'm making 10 dinars ($3.50) a day-- am I supposed to feed my children or horses? I can't do this. This crisis has affected everybody, especially people like me who had nothing to begin with." TUNIS, TUNISIA (MARCH 12, 2020) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING AT MARKET HAMMAMET, TUNISIA (MARCH 12, 2020) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH TOURIST, HENRY HARIAVITE, SAYING: "We're being careful, but we shouldn't panic because of this disease. It's there, but I think we should continue living because life is a gift from God." VARIOUS OF EXTERIOR OF HASDRUBAL HOTEL
- Embargoed: 29th March 2020 15:08
- Keywords: COVID-19 Coronavirus Tourism in Tunisia Tunis Tunisia
- Location: TUNIS AND HAMMAMET, TUNISIA
- City: TUNIS AND HAMMAMET, TUNISIA
- Country: Tunisia
- Topics: Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA003C55WNKL
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Ammar Jouini had been optimistic about this year, hoping that after Tunisia's tourism sector finally recovered from years of pain caused by militant attacks in 2015, his souvenir business might also be looking up.
But with the coronavirus devastating holiday bookings, he is thinking of shutting up his shop in the popular beach resort of Hammamet and seeking new work for the season. He says now he has to wait for days to sell a single item.
"I think of closing the shop. I'm thinking of looking for another job to earn my living," he said.
Tunisia had been gearing up for a season of record visitor numbers that politicians hoped would make up for gloom elsewhere in the economy. But last week Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh said forecast economic growth had fallen to 1 percent from 2.7 percent, citing the virus.
In another blow to the tourist trade, Tunisia has announced it will require everyone arriving from abroad to self-isolate for two weeks.
Tourism accounts for nearly a tenth of Tunisia's economy, is its second-biggest employer after agriculture and provides an important source of foreign currency.
The crash that followed the 2015 attacks caused gross domestic product (GDP) growth to slow to 0.5 percent that year from an expected 3 percent. It contributed to a sharp fall in the value of Tunisia's currency the following year and ongoing economic troubles.
Tunisia agreed a loan program in 2016 with the International Monetary Fund but it expires in April and the new government, agreed in February after months of wrangling, is now trying to negotiate a replacement.
Jouini's shop, full of stuffed camels, painted pottery, t-shirts, red fezzes and postcards, is far from the only business facing hard times in Hammamet, where resorts stretch along the sandy beach each side of the pretty walled city and its fort.
While Jouini spoke, other souvenir sellers played football in the street, their shops empty. Nearby, Ramadan Jlassi sat with his horse-drawn carriage, waiting for custom.
He does not earn more than 10 dinars ($3.50) a day and has three sons, he said. "It is hard to buy the basics for my family," he said.
Tunisia has confirmed 13 cases of the coronavirus, mostly people who have recently arrived from abroad. It has closed schools early for their scheduled spring holiday and stopped some international travel.
Spring bookings at the Hasdrubal hotel, one of the smartest in town, stand at 15 percent, a quarter of the usual level in March, said general manager Samir Ncir.
"There is stagnation. Many reservations were cancelled," he said. The hotel is not yet planning to lay off staff though it may delay signing up seasonal workers, hoping that the epidemic will pass and tourists will return in the summer.
"We expect the pattern to return at the end of May and the beginning of June. But we may have to put off signing contracts with casual workers in the summer," he said.
But for Jouini, who has two children, the outlook is not good. "It will be complicated for me and my family because this is our only income," he said.
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