Thousands of tourists expected as Algeria reopens land borders with Tunisia
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Loading... - Aahil Hossain
- 10 Aug 2022
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Several cars and signs celebrating Tunisian-Algerian friendship marked the reopening Friday of land borders between the two countries, more than two years after they closed due to the COVID pandemic.
Authorities expect more than a million Algerian visitors, most of them tourists, to enter Tunisia during the summer months.
After two years of closure, due to the pandemic, nine border crossings between the two countries reopened at midnight on Thursday.
The decision to open the crossings again was announced by Algeria’s President Abdelmajid Tebboune to his Tunisian counterpart Kais Saied, on July 5, during Algiers’ independence day celebrations.
The Melloula border post, near Tabarka where reporters were gathered, traditionally sees the most traffic, according to Tunisian national guard official Jamel Zrig.
In 2019 there were between 15,000 and 16,000 daily arrivals and the crossing accounted for a quarter of incoming traffic from Algeria.
“Long live Algerian-Tunisian fraternity,” read a large banner at the border.
Visitors showed vaccination certificates and other COVID-related documents to customs officials in a building adorned with the inscription: “Welcome to our Algerian brothers, to their second country, Tunisia.”
Nearly three million Algerians travelled to Tunisia in 2019, equating to one third of foreign visitors in a year that signalled a recovery in Tunisia’s tourism sector.
Algerians typically travel to Tunisia for tourism, visiting the popular seaside resorts of Annaba and Constantine, to call on family or to undergo medical treatment. Read More...
