TOURISM IN TUNISIA.   Term Paper ID:30650 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Examines the importance of American tourism to this North African country.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Examines the importance of American tourism to this North African country. Government's development of a tourist infrastructure as a sector for growth. Ways of attracting tourists to a nation. Cultural events; festivals, hotels. Tunisia's future plans to develop the tourism sector. Performance Audit/Gap analysis. Action strategies. Work plan. Contingency plan. Charts. Paper Introduction: Tunisia and Tourism 1. Critical Issue According to the CIA world fact book, Tunisia is a nation of some 7 million inhabitants with a GDP of US $43.3 billion and the nation's primary industries are Petroleum, mining and tourism. Each year, according to the Tunisian embassy, some 4 million visitors comes to Tunisia, only a small percentage of those from America. The country has invested a great deal of money developing a tourist infrastructure ranging from building world-class hotels to creating programs of internal tours (McGuiness, 2001). After the economic slump in 1990-91 caused by the Gulf War, Tunisia successfully "relaunched" its tourism industry in 1992. Tourism is Tunisia's single most important sector for generating foreign exchange, and is Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Bringing in Americans Americans are very security conscious, and one of the averageAmerican tourist's primary requirements for choosing a vacation spot issafety. Daily flights connect Tunisia to virtually all European, African and Middle Eastern destinations. Wright, C. TheSenior Attache will appoint a multi-department task force that will handlethe specifics as shown in the following table.|Objective |Task |Responsibility |Steps |Deadline ||Number | | | | ||1 |Set up a |Senior |Get Authorization/|Immediately || |Budget |Attache/Task | | || | |Force |Determine | || | | |Expenses/ | || | | |Establish | || | | |Disbursement Plan | ||2 |Set and |Task Force |Research |Two Months || |Analyze | |Analyze | || |Goals | |Project | ||3 |Identify |Task Force |Contact embassies |Ongoing || |External | |Contact Airlines | || |Resources | |Negotiate Airport | || | | |Fees | || | | |Contact ASTA | ||4 |Learn the |Task Force |Identify |Ongoing || |American | |consultants | || |Market | |Research | || | | |Modify | || | | |Experiment/Test | | 7. This plan has been constructed to solve specificproblems for a specific time in Tunisia. Nearly 5 million tourists visited Tunisia in 1999. Once the raw figures are input,then we can make rational projections. After the economic slump in 199 -91 caused by the Gulf War, Tunisiasuccessfully "relaunched" its tourism industry in 1992. As such, it is modular and flexible, with thestructure already in place. The lack of actuarial andtabulated data concerning the American experience in Tunisia isproblematic, and one which can be solved with government support. Inherent in such a performance audit isto convince all relevant personnel that this audit is a systemic process,and not a one-time exercise. He writes, in part: Welcome to our dear guests, keen on coming to our homeland, cradle of civilization that represents one of the world's longest recorded history mightily visible in our Pharaonic, Greco-Roman, Coptic, Islamic and modern monuments. This is essential since, contrary to popular opinion,there is no "American Market" but there are multiple markets in America.And each of these markets must be approached in a different way. The concept of long-range planning and goalsetting changed forever on September 11, 2 1. King, S.J. No real budget for promotion Opportunities . More golf courses and leisure parks are underdevelopment. The Heritage Code grants companies important tax breaks to encourage investments in restoration and protection of archaeological monuments (e.g. Weaknesses . In June, 2 1, a special article on Tunisia in The Atlantic Monthlypresented a view of the nation that went a long way toward achieving thatgoal. Contingency Plan Matrix|Objective |Goal |Contingency Plan ||1--Budget |Funded for five years |Reapply for four || | |Reapply for three || | |Reapply for two || | |Reapply for One || | |Contact Local Businesses || | |Contact Non Profits || | |Contact UN ||2--Goals |All goals approved |Reanalyze || | |Recompute || | |Resubmit ||3-- External |Establish cooperation |Begin with Morroco ||Sources |with other |Contact Egypt || |nations/airlines |Contact Alitalia || | |Contact Greece || | |Contact Venice || | |Contact London || | |Contact France || | |Contact Malta ||4 Learn America |Efficiency |Study Internet || | |Read || | |Join Marketing Groups || | |Hire Consultants || | |Hire Full time staff | 9. Convince travel bookers and agents to add Tunis as a safer stop for preexisting tours. The Tunisians are very interested in attracting all types ofAmerican tourism-related food, hotel, and service industry franchises.There are also excellent opportunities to sell equipment and services(Anderson, 1986). Egypt also enjoys a favourable geographic location as the meeting ground of East and West. The Government of Tunisia estimated that about 9, Americansvisited Tunisia in 1993, an increase of over 55 percent. Seven international airports, and eight passenger ports connect Tunisia to the United States and Europe. The private sector is developing hospitality businesses, atheme park, several four-star hotels/resorts, two automobile racetracks,and other recreational facilities. For example, it is well known in the travel industrythat the homosexual market is one of the best for travel and tourism,usually because of the large amounts of discretionary income available.However, many countries in the Middle East are avoided by this market basedon the fear of the homosexual being arrested, detained, or, as happens inmany Islamic countries, simply executed or stoned. Egypt learned this lesson the hard way, according to several sourcesat its Embassy(Sadar, 2 1). (2 1), Footprint Tunisia Handbook: The Travel Guide toTunisia, New York: Footprint Handbooks.Tunisian-American Chamber of Commerce in Tunis at 11-216-1-799-887, fax 11-216-1-799-851. It is only with the raw figures of practical experience that a logicalprojected growth goal can be established. Whereas Tunis, as a Middle East destinationhad seemed quaint, with its minarets and fezes, the land--being a nationthat is 98 percent Muslim-- was suddenly painted with a brush of terror.It will take some time to change that picture. The Tunisian government is exceptionally stable forthis region, and it is ideally situated in North Africa on theMediterranean between Algeria and Libya. The Egyptian Tourism Ministry is the MiddleEast's most aggressive and successful. That is essential to remember when consideringthis plan for approval. The first and mostimperative requirement is that the Tunisian Embassy set a marketing andpromotion budget. 8. Government supports sustained efforts to promote the cultural sector (DeMonty, 1973). Critical Issue According to the CIA world fact book, Tunisia is a nation of some 7million inhabitants with a GDP of US $43.3 billion and the nation's primaryindustries are Petroleum, mining and tourism. When that one incidentoccurred, the world of travel, of commerce, of tourism, of airline safety,and of finance came to an end. This contact wouldachieve three things: 1. Work Plan This must be an Embassy Wide effort that comes from the top. 4. Promote Culture There is a natural and full festival of events to promote in Tunisia.The Summer festivals of Carthage, Dougga, and Hammamet, host topinternational artists, and there are the International Festival of El Jemfor classical music, the Andalusian Music Festival of Testour, the SaharaFestival in Douz, the International Film Festival of Carthage, theMythological Films Festival in Jerba and the Theater Festival of Carthage.According to the Tunisian Ministry of Tourism, these are some of theofficial festivals held during 2 1, and many are scheduled on an annualbasis.|Festivals |Date |Location ||Yasmine Hammamet Festival |12 July |Hammamet ||International Festival of Jazz |29 June-7 July |Tabarka ||Falconry Festival |23-25 June |Haouaria ||Thoroughbred Horse Festival |5-6-7-8 July |Meknassy (Sidi || | |Bouzid) ||International Festival of Carthage |12 July- 23 |Tunis || |August | ||International Festival of Hammamet |13 July - 22 |Hammamet || |August | ||International Festival of Sousse |14 July -18 |Sousse || |August | ||Ulysse Festival |17-25 July |Djerba ||International Festival of Testour |17-31 July (35th |Testour ||(Malouf) |edition) | ||International Festival of Bizerta |14 July -17 |Bizerta || |August | || Plastic Art festival |22 July - 6 |Mahr?s || |August | ||International Festival of Dougga |15 July -5 August|Doug ||International Festival of Symphonic |14 July -11 |El Jem (Mahdia) ||Music |August | ||Carthage-Byrsa Festival (exhibition) |15 July -15 |Carthage || |September | ||Nights of El Marsa |13 July- 18 |La Marsa || |August | ||Oasis Festival |3-6 November |Tozeur ||Tourism Saharan Day |12 November |Sud ||Medina Festival |Ramadan |Tunis | Future Plans Tunisia's plans to develop the tourism sector are very ambitious. (1998, March 22), Economic reform and Tunisia's hegemonicparty: The end of the administrative elite.(Beyond Colonialism andNationalism in North Africa), Arab Studies Quarterly, 59-87. Solution/Action Strategies For this action plan to be effective, it must have a beginning, amiddle and an end. And the way that it solved this problem wasto determine which markets had travelers that tended to pay and spend more,and focus on them. Tunisia and Tourism 1. A study of a fine color brochurefrom the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism has a welcoming message from Dr.Mamdouh el Beltaqui, and his message is instructive for our strategicplanning. There are more than2 , tourist beds. The country has invested a great deal ofmoney developing a tourist infrastructure ranging from building world-classhotels to creating programs of internal tours (McGuiness, 2 1). The second most important action must be to set a reasonable andachievable goal. . Cathedral of Carthage;) Increasingly liberal importation of books, movies and ideas. The following Gantt chart showsthe predicted rough timelines we are considering. (1995, March 1),Tunisia: A close look at opportunities inthe growing tourism sector, Business America, 11 Willett, D. And it is against thisperception that all attempts to increase Tunisian tourism must be made. Typically, travelerswill put up with the prospect of poor accommodations, or late trainschedules, but tend to draw the line when the thought of death is a part ofthe travel equation (Sadar, 2 1). 2. For instance, once the concept of a task forceis established, then this becomes a management technique that can endure.Such a program allows the embassy to conduct multiple studies and projectsat once. Because of this, there are certain accepted methods of operation thatcan and must be instituted in this action plan. There are more than 722 hotels in the country, totaling 191,955 beds. Time Line (Estimated)|Item | | | | | | | | | | ||Quarter |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 |6 |7 |8 |9 |1 ||Plan Creation |xxx | | | | | | | | | ||Plan Approval |xxx | | | | |xxx | | | | ||Budget | |xxx | | | |xxx | | | |xxx ||Goal Approval | |xxxx | | | | | | | | ||Implementation | |xxx |xxx |Xxx |xxx |xxx |xxx |xxx | | | Accountability ConsiderationsGovernment of Tunisia Tunisian Embassy (New York/Washington) Minister of Tourism Task Force Director Task Force Acknowledgements/Recognition/Celebration Other Uses for this Plan This contingency plan has followed the models of standard task forceplans and action programs. The capital city, Tunis, is a two-hour flight from Paris and London and a fifty- minute flight from Rome. American and most European tourists do not require visas to enter Tunisia. For instance, if Tunis is rejectedby Morocco, the rejection is probably not because of the plan. There will also be investigations for other sources offunding.Contingency Two: GoalsThere is always a standard contingency plan when goals are not met orrejected or not approved. This will best be handled by hiring, asconsultants, people who have specialized in motivating action from theAmerican market. 3. (1986), The State and Social Transformation in Tunisiaand Libya, Princeton: Princeton University Press. Invasion threats from Algeria and Libya Based on this analysis, it is apparent that there are multipleopportunities for growth and advancement and an increase in tourism.However, it must always be remembered that no matter how perfect Tunisia'senvironment seems, and how lush its beaches and how urbane its citiesappear, that Tunisia is a jewel in a somewhat spotty and tattered andshabby crown. Kaplan, R.D., (2 1, June), Roman Africa, The Atlantic Monthly, 29. In 1994, tourismreceipts were an estimated $1.3 billion; tourist arrivals were estimated at4 million and they spent an estimated 24 million nights. (1973),"Old Families and New Elites in Tunisia," inWilliam Zartman, ed., Man, State and Society in the Contemporary Maghrib,New York: Praeger. The following sample projectionsshow how such a charting would be valuable. . De Montety, H. When the typical Americanthinks of North Africa and the Mediterranean, the first country that comesto mind is usually Egypt. Forinstance, if it was decided to specify a marketing campaign to appeal tothe over-6 traveler in America, it would not be possible or practical touse the same marketing campaign as one designed to appeal to Chineseresidents of Texas. Vision/Strategic Modeling There are numerous ways to attract tourists to a nation, especially anation that is as little known as Tunisia. The performance audit in the above section shows areasonable snapshot of where Tunisia is at this point in time, and, assuch, it is a notable beginning. Conclusions The poet Robert Burns once said that the best laid plans of both miceand men often go wrong. These figures assume that the4, , -visitor figure for the year 2, is reasonably accurate. We should emphasize in all press and marketing information that thegovernment has been very careful to keep its distance from the governmentsof these two countries, and, even though Tunisia is 98 percent Islamic, thegovernment makes every attempt to keep the nation secular. References Anderson, L. After these steps are taken, it is essential to develop some internalexpertise on the American market. Therefore, step one of our action plan wouldbe to achieve cooperation from all necessary government agencies to trackand validate American exposures in Tunisia. A large part of this budget (at least 5 percent) mustgo to Internet Marketing (since nations from Australia to Zimbabwe havereported that a web site presence generates more questions and can be seento generate more visitor-days, which also translates into more touristrevenues. If weassume a goal of a five percent increase in tourist numbers, then we cansee in clear numbers what the Embassy's annual goals would have to be. (In line with this, the Embassy should push for a moratorium on landing fees for the airports, an act which should generate more business.) 3. Middle Eastern instability . Everyone in the Tunisian Embassy, from theclerks to the attaches and from the guards to the housekeeping staff mustaccept the challenge of realizing that each and every action and statementis indicative of the nation of Tunisia. Tourism isTunisia's single most important sector for generating foreign exchange, andis pegged as the most promising sector for growth well into the 21stcentury. One of the problems is immediately apparent in the fact that no onegovernment agency in Tunisia actually cumulatively tracks the purposes ofAmerican visits to Tunisia. 6. Continued growth of economic sector . . Sadar, Mohammed (2 1) Phone call with Junior Cultural Attache.Egyptian Embassy. This means that the Government and the leadership must let the worldknow how stable it is. As a working goal, this analysis calls for efforts toachieve a 5 percent annual increase in the number of American touristsvisiting Tunisia. Its women are assertive and dress in fashionable Western clothes. Let the world travel industry know that there is such a place as Tunis, and that it is still, after thousands of years, a crossroads of world travel (Wright, 1995). . Theideal is to maintain positive thinking. Threats . For ifwe know how many Americans have come to Tunisia, and for what purposes, andfor how long, and under what circumstances, then we can begin building adatabase which can be helpful in quantifying the growth of Americantourism. The non-Islamic world sees the Middle East as a land ofwandering Bedou and Nomads who spend a great deal of time murdering eachother in the name of Allah(Willett, 1998). Performance Audit/Gap Analysis Strengths . McGuiness, J. The taxi drivers use meters and wear seat belts (Kaplan, 2 1, 32). A mild climate all year round, a natural environment enriched by the Nile River, Mediterranean and Red Sea beaches, vast expanses of desert, fascinating oases, in addition to a wide variety of handcrafts and above all friendly and hospitable people. Islamic Fundamentalism . The figures havedropped since then, and tend to rise or fall depending on the worldreaction to Islamic dissidents (McGuiness, 2 1; King, 1998). But it must always be rememberedthat Tunisia is one part of a world called the Middle East (Anderson, 1986)which is one part of the bigger world. . American Express, for instance, has 7, 14, and 21 day "Mediterranean Escapes" which feature a number of ports, but only include Tunis on the 21-day excursion. Contingency PlanContingency One: BudgetIf the budget is not approved for five years, it will be redrafted forlower time frames. That plan is to add new goals, get rid of oldones, or rethink what the long range goals are. Hence, with the development of various tourist services, you are cordially invited to enjoy several activities in the field of culture, entertainment, diving, aqua sports, desert safari, convention, inventive, eco and therapeutic tourism.("Welcome to Egypt, 2 1, 4) That welcoming speech states in toto the philosophy that the TunisianEmbassy and the tourism departments can, and must adopt to becomecompetitive. One of the primary ways to attract American visitors to Tunisia isto convince the tourists that they will not run the risk of death if theycome. Implementation Cycle Time Required The concept of increasing tourism to Tunisia is not really timedriven, although there must be guidelines. The primary contingency inthis area is to always remain flexible.Contingency Three: Identify ExternalsThe challenge here is to react quickly when the plan is rejected. As such, no matter what we plan, wemust always be flexible. 5. Failure to self promote . It has a large Internet cafe, cash machines, news apartment blocks, elegant street lighting, dependable plumbing and electricity, and reforested hillsides. . Necessary Growth in Tourism|Year |Base Number |Percentage |Percentage # |Ending Number || | |Increase | | ||2 2 |4, , |5 |2 , |4,2 , ||2 3 |4,2 , |5 |21 , |4,41 , ||2 4 |4,41 , |5 |22 ,5 |4,63 ,5 ||2 5 |4,63 ,5 |5 |231,525 |4,862, 25 ||2 6 |4,862, 25 |5 |243,1 1 |4,886,326 | With a concrete goal in mind, the next step will be for the TunisianEmbassy attaches to make contact with embassies and travel ministers forcountries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Greece and so on, all countries thathave aggressive travel and tourist infrastructures. (2 1), Lonely Planet: Tunisia, New York: LP Guides. Poor or weak public image . At one point, the writer says, Le Kef, a town of 5 , is no fundamentalist enclave or third world disaster zone. Use these embassy contacts to gain access to airlines so that they will expand their routes to Tunisia. Tunisia's beautiful beaches and historical treasures attract millions of tourists from all over the world. But it isessential to meet with the officials and see if there is something wrongwith the plan.Contingency Four: Learn AmericaThis is an open-ended goal and is not really in need of contingencyconsideration. Each year, according to theTunisian embassy, some 4 million visitors comes to Tunisia, only a smallpercentage of those from America. Anairport/tourist complex in Tabarka and a "test" casino near Sousse wererecently inaugurated to attract upscale tourists. Increased imports and exports . If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.