The tourist season is in full swing in Djerba, with indicators in clear improvement, but certain structural challenges continue to weigh on professionals in the sector. This is what Haithem Jbeniani, a hotelier on the island, would like to recall, reacting to a wave of erroneous interpretations of his words published recently on social networks.
In a clear development, he says that “the tourist situation in Djerba takes place normally, with even a notable increase in the number of nights”. He specifies that hotel establishments operate at full capacity and that the supply of food and goods is fluid. On the security level, the island seems to have turned a page: “The context is peaceful, after an effective fight against the forms of extremism which, at one time, even targeted tourism institutions”, he wrote.
But beyond this overall positive table, the hotelier refuses to silence the difficulties that remain and that he deems “heavy to carry for professionals”. First of all: recurrent drinking water cuts, which force some hoteliers to use makeshift solutions “embarrassing to customers”. Added to this are electricity interruptions and increasing pressure linked to the weakening of purchasing power.
“Our foreign customers, especially Libyans, suffer from limited purchasing power. As for Tunisians, the abolition of payments by check has aggravated an already old liquidity crisis, “he continues, stressing that this situation compromises the profitability of hotel units.
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The hotelier insists: it was in no way a question of launching an alarmist alert or blackening the situation. “Some have distorted my words and tried to instrumentalize them for malicious purposes, in order to harm the image of tourism or to sow disorder between professionals and the administration,” he denounces.
And to conclude, with a resolutely combative tone: “Let them know that despite the obstacles, we will continue to work with determination to succeed this season. The real alert is the state of certain sick souls, who transform the suffering of others into an opportunity for free nuisance. ”
In an island that remains one of the pillars of Tunisian tourism, this word from the field recalls that if visitors are there, the sustainability of the sector requires concrete solutions to fundamental problems.
