.- Within the walls of the medina market, a major attraction in the resort of Hammamet in Tunisia, Hafedh Alouini prepares his post waiting for a customer. "I have not sold anything in almost three weeks," he says, while a handful of other market vendors sunbathers smoke cigarettes and leaning against the stone walls of the medina.
"No tourists. We're just waiting," he added. The tourism industry in Tunisia, the largest source of hard currency the country in North Africa, has stopped dead since a popular uprising last month forced the flight of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and several riots broke out more the Arab world.
Thousands of tourists were evacuated from resorts when the protests reached a critical point affecting the tourism industry and prompting the government to launch an advertising campaign to attract people, called: "! I love Tunisia, the place to be. .. now! ". Down is not a small problem for Tunis, long a favorite holiday destination thanks to its thousand 410 kilometers of Mediterranean coastline, its ancient Roman architecture and its vast expanses of scenic desert.
Tourism employs about 400 000 people of 10 million people and contributed two thousand 500 million dollars in revenue last year, more than six percent of GDP. Now, while Tunisia struggle to find a balance - with demonstrations that clog the capital and the interim government against an increase in crime - the question that Tunisians are asking is "Why would return?".
The high season of tourism in Tunisia is from April to July. The Government remains hopeful, said that during the weekend charter flights resumed from Europe to the picturesque town of Bizerte, across the Mediterranean from Sicily and Sardinia. Earlier this month, Tourism Minister Mehdi Houasse said the popular overthrow of Ben Ali was "good publicity" that would be beneficial for the sector.
"The revolution has made our country is known around the world. We tell our friends who can come to Tunisia in a climate of peace and freedom," he said. But the ongoing demonstrations and concerns about the growing religious tensions could lead to a setback, as the violence spreads in the Arab world, as in neighboring Libya, where they could have killed between one and two thousand people.
"Safety is everything," said Kate Davis, director Saphir Palace Hotel Hammamet, one of more than a dozen whitewashed hotel overlooking the sea and one of the few still operating. "For people outside waiting to see everything calm and beautiful, the news about what is happening in the Arab world can be daunting.
On the other hand, I am confident that tourism will recover in the coming months," he said. In the next Chich Khan hotel, another hotel owned by IBEROSTAR has decided to keep its doors open in Hammamet, Susie Veoge German tourist check-in with her husband. Security is no problem and we have this place to us, "he said.
Dozens of other hotels are empty. Based on the opinion of analysts on North Africa in late January, Fitch Ratings lowered its growth forecast for this year Tunis five percent to two percent, saying that tourism is the sector most severely beaten by political unrest. But he said the economy would recover next year if the election to replace Ben Ali Poncins.
It is expected that the interim government to call elections for July or August. To Alouini, the market of the medina, is good news. "Right now we're taking the food to the table as we can. We have won freedom, and that's priceless, "he said. 
"No tourists. We're just waiting," he added. The tourism industry in Tunisia, the largest source of hard currency the country in North Africa, has stopped dead since a popular uprising last month forced the flight of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and several riots broke out more the Arab world.
Thousands of tourists were evacuated from resorts when the protests reached a critical point affecting the tourism industry and prompting the government to launch an advertising campaign to attract people, called: "! I love Tunisia, the place to be. .. now! ". Down is not a small problem for Tunis, long a favorite holiday destination thanks to its thousand 410 kilometers of Mediterranean coastline, its ancient Roman architecture and its vast expanses of scenic desert.
Tourism employs about 400 000 people of 10 million people and contributed two thousand 500 million dollars in revenue last year, more than six percent of GDP. Now, while Tunisia struggle to find a balance - with demonstrations that clog the capital and the interim government against an increase in crime - the question that Tunisians are asking is "Why would return?".
The high season of tourism in Tunisia is from April to July. The Government remains hopeful, said that during the weekend charter flights resumed from Europe to the picturesque town of Bizerte, across the Mediterranean from Sicily and Sardinia. Earlier this month, Tourism Minister Mehdi Houasse said the popular overthrow of Ben Ali was "good publicity" that would be beneficial for the sector.
"The revolution has made our country is known around the world. We tell our friends who can come to Tunisia in a climate of peace and freedom," he said. But the ongoing demonstrations and concerns about the growing religious tensions could lead to a setback, as the violence spreads in the Arab world, as in neighboring Libya, where they could have killed between one and two thousand people.
"Safety is everything," said Kate Davis, director Saphir Palace Hotel Hammamet, one of more than a dozen whitewashed hotel overlooking the sea and one of the few still operating. "For people outside waiting to see everything calm and beautiful, the news about what is happening in the Arab world can be daunting.
On the other hand, I am confident that tourism will recover in the coming months," he said. In the next Chich Khan hotel, another hotel owned by IBEROSTAR has decided to keep its doors open in Hammamet, Susie Veoge German tourist check-in with her husband. Security is no problem and we have this place to us, "he said.
Dozens of other hotels are empty. Based on the opinion of analysts on North Africa in late January, Fitch Ratings lowered its growth forecast for this year Tunis five percent to two percent, saying that tourism is the sector most severely beaten by political unrest. But he said the economy would recover next year if the election to replace Ben Ali Poncins.
It is expected that the interim government to call elections for July or August. To Alouini, the market of the medina, is good news. "Right now we're taking the food to the table as we can. We have won freedom, and that's priceless, "he said.
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