Tunisian Economy Rebounds

The global recession, naturally, had an adverse affect on the Tunisian economy. Reduced consumption in Europe undermined export-heavy industries in Tunisia for which Europe is the most important market.

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But the Tunisian economy is coming back strong in the Third Quarter.

The last quarter growth rate was 3.1% - the manufacturing industry is still down for the year (-2.8%) due to the European recession, but 9.2% growth in telecoms/transport and a 6% growth in agriculture more than made up for the slump in manufacturing. This recent announcement comes at the same time when Tunisian has become Europe's number #1 southern Mediterranean exporter:

Tunisia is now the chief exporter on the southern shore of the Mediterranean to the EU; Tunisia has achieved a remarkable leap, boosting industrial exports from 1.3 billion dinars (dollar to dinar exchange rate: $1 to 1.31 dinars) in 1987 to 18.7 billion dinars in 2008.

By sector, export of engineering products reached 6.2 billion dinars in 2009. Food exports reached 1.85 billion in 2008 against 0.2 billion dinars in 1987.

As concerns pharmaceutical industries, the figures provided by the Ministry of Industry show that production of this sector increased from 8 million dinars (MD) in 1990 to 363MD in 2008 creating 5,000 jobs. The coverage of national needs for medicines has also increased from 7.5% to 47% during the same period.

In terms of Investment, the industry sector brought 1.4 billion dinars of investments in 2009 , while in 1987 the sector has recorded only 0.28 billion dinars of investment.

Foreign direct investments have also significantly increased from 15 million dinars to 642 million dinars.

And European-Tunisian business partnerships are up:

The number of industrial enterprises set up as a result of partnership, has risen from 402 to 2324 companies in the past two decades.

The Tunisian government also expects domestic consumption to grow by 4.5% in 2010.

Part of Tunisia's rebound will be centered about the vital tourism industry, and here new developments are making the country a more attractive place to visit:

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The North African country of Tunisia is known for its golden beaches, sunny weather and affordable luxuries. The new 280-room Radisson hotel, in the former French colonial port city of Monastir, is no exception.

The Radisson Blu Resort & Thalasso, Monastir sits on 12 acres along the Mediterranean and has three restaurants, five bars, and an indoor and two outdoor swimming pools, including one just for kids. At the beach, there’s water skiing, Jet Skiing or sand volleyball.

But the biggest attraction may be its sprawling 150,000-square-foot spa, of which a third is devoted to thalasso (seawater) therapy from Brittany-based Thal’lion Thalasso Cosmetics. Scheduled to open in January, the spa features saltwater pools, clay and seaweed wraps and steam bath scrubs.

Best of all, rooms start at 82 Tunisian dinars (about $65 at 1.31 Tunisian dinars to the dollar), making a night in Tunisia a relative bargain.