Tunisia |
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Above : CMW ’ s man in Tunis , Simon George ( second right ) |
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Radhouane and Ennabli said . The TCB is keen to promote Tunisia ’ s rich cultural heritage and the actual destination itself by staging events at famous sites such as Carthage or Dougga , for example – venues where you could put on a dinner or a concert for up to 1,000 people , say . Egypt ’ s MICE sector has government permission to stage such events in its country , so why not Tunisia ?
Tozeur in the south of Tunisia , an oasis town on the edge of the Sahara , is a fantastic destination , according to Ennabli , with lots of potential for incentives in the desert , but there are challenges with flight connections . However , there is some good news on this front – the Dutch low-cost carrier Transavia , part of Air France-KLM , has just started flying from Paris Orly to Tozeur via Tunis . “ It ’ s a start ,” noted Ennabli .
Data learning Inevitably , as a convention bureau in its infancy , the TCB for all its laudable ambition is facing a number of growing pains , many of them digital . Apart from the funding and regulatory issues already touched on , the bureau says it needs help collating and extrapolating statistical information on MICE markets . “ We don ’ t have numbers on the size of the MICE market , revenue figures , etc .,” Ennabli said . As such , digitisation and digitilasation are
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areas it needs to embrace and quickly , one senses . “ To grow the MICE market , we need companies that can help with online registration , that can measure the impact of an event in terms of how many people come , the revenue they generate , for example ,” Ennabli said .
Team Tunisia Tunisia is well placed in terms of hotel infrastructure , Ennabli reiterated . However , one of the key aims of Tunisia MICE Day was to promote the TCB as an entity not just to the big hotels and tour operators , but to all players in the MICE market – for example , to suppliers such as companies renting out AV equipment , printers , transport companies etc ., which is good news for the whole economy , Ennabli stressed .
As far as TCB plans for the future go , Ennabli said : “ We would like to grow , expand our offices , have permanent employees and be more active in the MICE market . We would like Tunisia MICE Day to become an annual event and get bigger .” Radhouane added that she hoped Tunisia would be able to host big international trade shows and more big events – pharmaceutical , for example . “ We also hope for more investment for large congress centres and that we can host more events at the country ’ s archaeological sites .”
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Above : The national CVB has big plans to attend more international industry events |
Valérie Vieille , CEO of CB-EVENTS Genève , praised the Tunisia Mice Day initiative . “ The organisation was good . The programme was well diversified . I hope that next year it will be even better with more exhibitors . I hope to convince some decision-makers and companies from Switzerland to go to Tunisia . The conditions would be even better if easyJet starts to fly from Geneva .”
The TCB hopes to be at IMEX in Frankfurt in May , said Radhouane who was present at IBTM in November 2023 as an exhibitor with euromic rather than representing the TCB .
In terms of leisure tourist arrivals , France , Germany , Italy and Spain are Tunisia ’ s main markets . However , Ennabli added wistfully : “ We would like the British to return in numbers to Tunisia … to come back for summer holidays , for business , participate in events , consider Tunisia as a competitive destination . We miss the British .”
And the winner is … Tunisia MICE Day culminated in a wide array of MICE awards being handed out at a gala evening . Four Seasons Hotel Tunis scooped up the award for Best MICE hotel , with Laico Tunis awarded the prize for best MICE city business hotel . Best DMC was awarded to Top Events with Alice Events in second place , while the jury ’ s special prizes for sustainable tourism and Saharan tourism went to Iberostar and Anantara Tozeur Resort & Villas respectively . n
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