Tunisia crossed the 10 million visitor mark for the first time in 2024, recording 10.25 million international arrivals and tourism revenues of 7.5 billion Tunisian dinars (approximately USD 2.4 billion). The following figures draw on data from the Tunisian National Office of Tourism (ONTT), the National Statistics Institute (INS), and Xinhua economic reporting.
Annual Visitor Numbers
Tunisia’s tourism sector has undergone dramatic swings since 2015.
- 2015: 5.4 million (down sharply after the Bardo Museum and Sousse attacks)
- 2019: 9.4 million (pre-pandemic high)
- 2020: 2.3 million (COVID border closures; 75% collapse)
- 2021: 3.2 million (partial reopening)
- 2022: 6.1 million (strong rebound)
- 2023: 9.37 million (near-full recovery to pre-pandemic levels)
- 2024: 10.25 million (new record, first time above 10 million)
- 2025: Approximately 11 million (provisional; another record per ONTT data to December 2025)
The recovery from 2020 lows to the 2024 record took four years. The 2024 figure represents an increase of roughly 9.4% over 2023 and surpasses the 2019 benchmark by around 9%.
Top Source Markets
The Maghreb region dominates Tunisia’s inbound tourism by volume.
Algerian visitors are consistently the largest single source market, reaching approximately 3.5 million arrivals in 2024, a 16% increase year-on-year. Many Algerians travel overland via the Annaba-Tabarka and El Oued-Douz border crossings, as well as by air through Tunis-Carthage International Airport. They tend to concentrate in Hammamet, Nabeul, and coastal resort zones.
Libyan visitors stabilised at around 2.1 million in 2024. Cross-border travel is primarily overland via Ras Jdir and is concentrated in Djerba, Sfax, and Tunis.
Total Maghreb arrivals (Algeria, Libya, and smaller flows from Morocco and Mauritania) accounted for approximately 5.7 million visitors in 2024, or 55.6% of all international arrivals.
European arrivals reached 2.97 million in 2024, a 16.9% increase over 2023, driven mainly by package-holiday recovery across France, Germany, and Eastern Europe.
Key European source markets by estimated arrivals in 2024:
| Market | Approximate Arrivals (2024) |
|---|---|
| France | 1.2 million |
| Germany | 560,000 |
| United Kingdom | 410,000 |
| Italy | 380,000 |
| Poland | 260,000 |
| Russia | 320,000 |
The UK ranked as Tunisia’s top European source market by spend per arrival in 2025, according to ONTT data reported by Travel and Tour World (June 2026).
Peak Season Data
Beach-resort demand concentrates sharply in summer. July and August account for the highest monthly arrival figures each year. In July 2025, Tunisia recorded over 1.1 million international arrivals in a single month, with hotel capacity in the Sahel coast running at or near full for four to six weeks.
The coastal regions of Sousse-Monastir-Mahdia and Hammamet-Cap Bon are effectively booked out during the last two weeks of July and the first week of August, driven by European package-holiday blocks and Algerian peak summer travel.
Shoulder season months (April, May, September, October) attract heritage and adventure travellers visiting Dougga, Sbeitla, the Sahara around Douz and Tozeur, and the medinas of Tunis, Kairouan, and Sfax. Temperatures in the interior during these months are manageable.
December through February is the quietest period for international arrivals, though domestic Tunisian travel and Algerian weekenders sustain some activity in Hammamet and Nabeul.
Economic Contribution
Tourism generates approximately 9% of Tunisia’s gross domestic product, according to ONTT figures cited in regional economic reporting. The sector supports an estimated 400,000 direct and indirect jobs, ranging from hotel and restaurant employment to transport, craft retail, and tour operations.
Tourism receipts in 2024 were approximately TND 7.5 billion, an 8.3% increase over 2023. In 2023, receipts were approximately TND 6.9 billion, up sharply from TND 4.7 billion in 2022. The revenue growth reflects both higher arrival volumes and a recovery in average spend per visitor as European package-holiday margins normalised after post-COVID discounting.
The Tunisian dinar (TND) has depreciated against the euro and pound since 2019, which has made Tunisia comparatively affordable for European visitors and contributed to price-driven demand growth from France, Germany, and the UK.
Accommodation Statistics
Tunisia has approximately 900 classified hotels with over 240,000 tourist beds as of 2024, according to ONTT and Statista data.
Regional bed distribution (approximate, 2023-2024 data):
| Region | Classified Beds |
|---|---|
| Nabeul-Hammamet (Cap Bon) | 62,000 |
| Sousse-Monastir-Mahdia (Sahel) | 78,000 |
| Djerba-Zarzis | 44,000 |
| Tunis and surroundings | 18,000 |
| Sfax, Gabes, interior | 12,000 |
| Other regions | 26,000 |
Hotel room occupancy rates recovered to 38.7% across all classified properties in 2023 (up from 30.6% in 2022), though the average conceals a wide gap between peak-season coastal hotels (running at 80-90% in July-August) and inland or off-season properties.
Self-catering apartments and private rentals (including platforms such as Airbnb) add a significant volume of unlicensed accommodation, particularly in Hammamet and Tunis, that is not captured in the official 240,000-bed figure.
Growth Trends
Tunisia’s tourism industry has followed a volatile but ultimately upward trajectory since 2015. The 2015-2016 security crisis cost the country more than 4 million annual visitors and around USD 1.4 billion in lost receipts. Recovery to 2014 levels did not occur before the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020.
The post-2020 rebound has been faster than after the 2015 crisis. By 2023, Tunisia had recovered to within 0.1% of its 2019 arrival figure. The 2024 record (10.25 million) and the provisional 2025 figure (approximately 11 million) represent genuine new highs, not just recovery.
Structural growth drivers include: sustained Algerian middle-class demand, European package-holiday cost-competitiveness against Turkey and Greece, expanding low-cost air connections (Ryanair, Transavia, Vueling), and growing cruise stopovers at La Goulette. ONTT’s medium-term target, first stated in 2022 and reiterated in 2025, is 12 million annual arrivals by 2028.
Statistics sourced from ONTT, INS Tunisia, Xinhua Africa, and Travel and Tour World, covering calendar years 2019-2025. Revenue figures are in Tunisian dinars unless USD equivalents are stated.