Yes Jenny, we have just returned from PEK and it was absolutely dead, hardly any tourists about at all, after dark hardly a soul and rather spooky! Such a shame for the local people and I dont think there seems much push to get more tourists back. Also the fact that there are so few flights now is not encouraging.

The Marhaba Palace is now closed while they renew all the floors/flooring, they told us it would be closed for 1 month but with the amount of rooms to do I suspect it may not re-open until much later, the Green Park next door has been demolished and now only the Kanta has tourists - these are all hotels which would usually have guests wandering about day and night but not now.

A day in Sousse was busy but mostly locals who were still on holiday.

Shame

Thanks for the post Anne. You have seen the depressing results of the travel companies withdrawing their support and you have only seen the surface in one of the more popular resorts, so you can image how the other places are suffering and just how deep the results go. Some serious consequences that are difficult to see and so sad. What I find so annoying is that it is all so unnecessary. We were in Tunisia throughout the revolution and there never was the slightest risk to any tourist. If you wanted trouble you could certainly find it, but non came to you. Tunisia has been filling the pockets of the European travel companies for numerous years and now that the New Tunisia needs their support there is only a token number of holidays available and i cannot see this changing in the near future. I know of several local reps who have been told that they willl not be needed for the next 3 years at least.
For anyone wanting to go to Tunisia who cannot find a package with their usual Travel company can always get a holiday - flight, transfer and hotel via Travel Republic who have given this lovely country consistent support throughout the difficult times -- and no, I'm nothing to do with the company other than being a very satisfied customer! xx

I know from local friends that the situation is pretty desperate for many Tunisians who rely so much on the tourists and the travel companies should be ashamed of themselves. Some, such as TC, have said weasle words about supporting the country but their actions do not bear this out. I hope to be back in Sousse in April but will be flying into Tunis with BA, as not only are their prices very reasonable but they never stopped their flights even at the height of the problems last year. A2B transfers are cheap and reliable so that won't be a problem.

Incidentally Jenny, a lady has enqured on here about the Iberostar Royal el Mansour at Mahdia as she has booked to go later this year. I know you do not stay there but I'm sure she would be grateful for any info you can give her.

I didn't see the post - was it recent? Will check as i stayed there in December for 3 days with friends from Tunis. x

Posted today Jenny. Mahdia isn't my area as you know so the only information I would be able to give would be that it will be very hot in August.

Hi Jenny and Aslemma, and everybody,
So sorry to hear about the situation in Tunisia, I know it is your beloved second home. I never realised what was happening out there I was in Moldova when all this trouble kicked off, since I came back in November 2010 I refused to watch the news, or any TV for that matter, I have enough going on in my life, don't need other peoples problems.
This would explain why my friend Naceur asked me to send him money though, to feed his wife and baby, he works on the calem trains in the desert, so I guess it hit him hard too.
Nice to see you two are still enjoying the country. I believe my wife has become a regular visitor to Turkey, I'm still involved with Moldova.
Best wishes K

Nice to hear from you again Kevin. It's hit them all in Tunisia, particularly those involved in tourism in any way, and despite vague promises by the new government to provide some sort of social security for the people there is no indication when (if ever) that will materialize. I still keep an eye on the news, though after the euphoria of the revolution quite a lot of it has been somewhat depressing. Al Jazeera is good for keeping up to date and I think they have a programme tomorrow at 8 pm on developments in Tunisia since the revolution.

Do stay in touch with us on here (or on Tunisian Tales). We might see you back in Sousse one day but in the meantime enjoy your involvement with Moldova.
Best wishes, x

Hi Kevin, good to hear from you. Away from the tourist areas,Tunisia has changed a great deal and will continue to do so. You have to actually live here to appreciate all the drastic changes - mostly not for the better I am afraid. The new ruling party have confirmed many of the people's fears and have tried to bring in a harder Islamic tone to life here and this is being resisted by many - hence the regular demonstrations. OK, you will see a much larger number of predominately young women wearing the hijab, but whether from a religious desire or a fashion statement is debatable - especially as it is often teamed up with skin tight jeans and sweater and copious amounts of makeup! The ''bearded ones'' as they are called have taken over many of the mosques in a controlled effort to impose a stricter Islamic way of life, but all that this has done, is stopped the moderate people from attending - deciding to carry out their devotions at home. They have also had sit ins at schools and universities and consequently disrupted the education of many people. The students have protested and simply gone home. Several academics have been assaulted when they have attempted to bring normality to the situation. Ironically more young people are leaving on the illegal boats to flee to Italy since the return of democracy than before. The instant good life that they had anticipated didn't come quick enough, so off they went.
Strikes are now common place with the result that far too many companies are packing up and leaving. All in all, not what the people expected, but in the long term I do believe that the country will settle down and move forward. We don't mix with the expats here, so tend to view life from a local point of view, however, after all this doom and gloom, I will stress that very little of the above will affect the tourists - it never did during the revolution - we were here throughout.
The people connected to Tourism are desperate for the tourists to return - not only for the sake of the hotels/shops/tour guides etc, but for their extended families - many of whom are supported by their salaries. Tourists who do return invariably receive a very warm welcome from the locals, so i do hope that people will make informed decisions and return to this friendly country. It needs all the support that it can get in these challenging times and there are lots of very good offers to be had out there! All best wishes. Jenny xx