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Tunisia

Property Tunisia - An Introduction

North Africa’s smallest nation, Tunisia, has a Mediterranean-facing coastline and lies directly south of Italy’s Sardinia tucked between Algeria on the west and Libya to the east.  Thanks to a sharp right-angle turn on its shoreline, Tunisia has 1,400km of coastline and it is this asset, together with its strategic location, which has propelled the nation on to the global stage and attracted considerable foreign investment, particularly from the Middle East. 

A colourful hotchpotch of architecture from Roman ruins to nineteenth century French colonial boulevards and a patchwork of landscapes from cork oak forests through to olive groves, vineyards and mile-upon-mile of undulating Sahara desert, Tunisia more than makes up for its size in terms of diversity.  The sandy beaches front an impressive infrastructure of luxurious hotels, modern international airports, chic boutiques and jet-set marinas whilst the barren south has long-been the chosen setting for blockbusting films including Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Monty Python’s Life of Brian and Minghella’s The English Patient. 

Life in Tunisia is very relaxed, tolerant and open.  Women’s rights are better catered to than anywhere else in the Arabic world allowing western-style clothing, participation in sport and no barriers to taking part in business or Government at a senior level.  Alcohol is freely available and widely drunk by locals and tourists alike. 

As tourism becomes more important, leisure facilities are springing up at a significant rate, particularly around the honeypot resorts of Hammamet and Monastir, and Tunisia now boasts six golf courses, two of which have 27-holes, international diving centres and plenty of yachting clubs.  Two significant projects currently underway, Mediterranean Gate ‘Century’ City and Tunis Sports City, both funded by Dubai investment at 25 billion USD and 5 billion USD respectively, will bring further golf courses and marinas, world-class sporting academies, Olympic grade facilities, business and leisure hubs as well as thousands of residential units and hotel beds.     

While buying a property in Tunisia may not be the obvious choice, expect nothing short of positive global headlines and economic fortune from Tunisia over the coming years, and your investment will be rewarded in spades. 

Tunisia - Climate             

Mediterranean north Tunisia has the typical climate expected from this region, hot dry summers and mild sometimes rainy winters with little marked seasons in between.  Temperatures peak to 32 or 33 degrees Celsius in July and August dropping to a comfortable 14 or 16 degrees in the winter season.  Sea-borne breezes take the intensity out of the searing summer heat making a visit to Tunisia pleasant all year round.  The Sahara desert to the south of course brings intense heat and blasting sirocco winds, but this would only affect tourists with an adventurous spirit.  Five stars. 

Tunisia - Accessibility   

Tunisia has a range of international airports although the majority of visitors enter through Tunis-Carthage International Airport (TUN) near the capital of Tunis, a major hub for scheduled flights, or through Monastir Habib Bourguiba International Airport (MIR) in Monastir, a hub for low cost charter flights from all over Europe.  Monastir is the gateway to many of the most popular coastal holiday resorts.  Inexpensive charter flights are provided by a myriad of operators from the UK to include ThomsonFly, Thomas Cook and First Choice and at less than three hours flying time from London and just one hour’s time differential from GMT this destination is low cost and low hassle.  Five stars. 

Tunisia - Economy     

Official figures for Tunisia’s economy are incredibly encouraging with the IMF predicting 5.5% GDP growth for 2008 and 5.9% for 2009.  Consider those figures in relation to many western European nations in the grip of a credit crunch.  Whilst the economy is safe and growing, unemployment is also dropping and inflation and foreign debt both manageable.  Tunisia is able to rely on several sectors for income generation – mineral exports in particular petroleum and phosphates, agricultural exports in produce such as citrus fruits, olive oil, grapes, tomatoes, figs and dates and of course tourism.  This decade of stability and economic growth (a minimum of 5% GDP growth rate every year) has certainly paid off as billions of dollars of investment are now pouring in from the Middle East into mega commercial and residential projects.  Five stars.  

Tunisia - Tourism     

Tourism in Tunisia dates back to the 1960s when the first package holidays came over from Europe and still today its Mediterranean location and proliferation of low cost charter flights keeps millions of predominantly Germans, Italians, French and Spanish returning year after year.  6.8 million tourists chose Tunisia in 2007, a mighty feat for a country with a population of just 10 million, and the World Travel and Tourism Council forecasts an annual increase of 4.3% between 2009 and 2018. However, this forecast is already being dwarfed as tourism has already risen by 4.7% during the first half of 2008.  The tourism sector now contributes to 6.5% of Tunisia's GDP and provides 340,000 jobs for the working population.  The sea and sun model applies to 90% of tourist arrivals to Tunisia but the government is looking to diversify its tourist mix. While focusing on keeping its arrivals from traditional European markets, the country is now looking towards China, the Middle East and the Americas as growth markets and attracting higher-spending visitors through expanding Thalassotherapy, golf, desert and eco-tourism.  Five stars. 

Tunisia - The Market     

Tunisia does not trip off the tongue for overseas property investment and is currently mightily overshadowed by near neighbours Morocco and Egypt in the property press, however with the presence of major Middle East property investors, mainly from Dubai and other UAE nations, the country is set to make a big impact.  Property prices are low, even as low as Morocco was five years ago, and the country feels exotic yet European, affordable yet upper-class and will appeal to a broad spectrum of end users.  The bonus is that unlike some far-flung destinations, a property in Tunisia is both a future income generator as well as being close enough to actually hop on a plane and enjoy the wonderful beaches and culture.  Four stars, early days.