Every dinar spent by a foreign tourist illustrates a tale of dependence, dynamism, and unrealized promises.
Imagine that Tunisia exports an invisible product, which passes neither through the Radès port nor in a container. It is sold on site, in a hotel room, a plate of grilled fish, a taxi to the airport. In 2025, this product earned 12.8 billion dinars, spent by non-resident visitors. Behind this figure emerges one of the clearest readings of the national economy.
A sector that weighs more than it appears
For a long time, tourism was marked by its arrivals, its overnight stays and its occupancy rates. Another way to look at it is to track the money, from the visitor’s pocket to the value actually created in the country. That is precisely what the Tourism Satellite Account makes possible.
According to the Tourism Satellite Account for 2023–2025, published by the National Institute of Statistics in October 2026, domestic tourism expenditures reached 17.47 billion dinars in 2025, up from 14.63 billion in 2023. The rise exceeds 19% over two years, with a 10.3% increase in 2024 and 8.2% in 2025. The momentum does not weaken; it stabilizes at a high plateau.
This volume of spending amounts to 10.2% of the country’s gross value added. In other words, one-tenth of the wealth produced in Tunisia corresponds, in terms of demand, to money spent by travelers.
The foreigner pays, the local completes
The split is unequivocal: 73.1% of these expenditures come from international visitors, i.e. 12.77 billion dinars. Internal tourism, that of Tunisians traveling within their own country, weighs 4.70 billion dinars.
The two clienteles do not spend in the same way. The foreign visitor devotes 40.3% of their budget to accommodation and 20.2% to passenger transport with national carriers.
The Tunisian traveler spends mainly on eating, with 22% of their budget on food and beverages, and on buying goods, which represent 29% of their expenditures. Transport, by contrast, accounts for only 7%. The tourist coming from afar finances the walls and seats, the local tourist nourishes the tables and shops.
The paradox of the hotel
