Regional Economic Drivers for Tunisia: Healthcare, Tourism, and Agriculture
The healthcare, tourism, and agriculture sectors have the potential to be regional economic drivers for Tunisia. However, their development is hindered by regulatory blockages and inadequate governance, according to panelists at the "Economic Acceleration through the Valorization of High-Potential Sectors" conference held in Tunis on September 18, 2025.
Medical Tourism: Potential Under Ethical Conditions
Ryhm Ghachem, President of the Council of the Medical Order, identified Tunisia as a future regional medical hub due to its expertise and infrastructure. The country already attracts patients for cosmetic surgery, assisted reproduction, and senior care. However, development requires administrative rigor, strict accreditation, and respect for ethics. Since March 2025, a charter has framed medical communication, prohibiting, for example, the display of patients' faces. Ghachem emphasized the importance of informing patients well to avoid disappointments and advocated for coordinated international marketing, while exploring niches like dietetics.
Beach Tourism: Restructuring to Survive
According to Dora Miled, President of the Tunisian Hotel Federation, the tourism sector, which could attract 20 million visitors but only receives 10 million, is in crisis with 170 hotels closed. Strategic errors from the 1990s, focused on volume rather than quality, have left companies under-capitalized and vulnerable to crises. She recommends a financial restructuring inspired by international practices, such as the spin-off model separating heavy and light assets. A white paper co-authored with banks in 2017 was never implemented. Other challenges include the flight of Tunisian seasonal workers to France (5,000 this year) and the need to legally recruit foreign labor. Miled also noted that without improved domestic transportation, no regional tourism development will be possible, even with a diversified offer.
Agriculture: Constrained Resilience
Leith Ben Becher, representing farmers, highlighted the resilience of the agricultural sector, which grows despite "hyper-legislation" and a brutal transition from a protected economy to liberalization without support. He denounced excessive bureaucracy, the lack of connection between production and transformation (cereals and agri-food), and the imbalance in the dairy sector dominated by a single processor facing numerous small breeders. Regarding olive oil, he criticized the institutional dispersion among several uncoordinated public operators. He calls for unified governance, better professional integration, and sustainable cultural choices, warning against uncontrolled exploitation of water resources.
South-South Cooperation: An African Opportunity
Adama Lam, President of the National Confederation of Employers of Senegal, highlighted the complementarities between Tunisia and sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in cereals. However, he denounces slow and competitive administrations, as well as high credit costs. He advocates for tax reforms, better financing for SMEs, and the integration of digital technology and artificial intelligence to take advantage of the global context marked by the withdrawal of major powers.
Financial Market: Under-Exploited Lever
Bilel Sahnoun, Director-General of the Tunis Stock Exchange, recalled that the market only finances 5-10% of the economy, compared to 30% in other emerging countries. With only 75 listed companies and a capitalization of 20% of GDP, entire sectors like tourism or agriculture are absent. He proposes revising regulations to create new financial products (commodity markets, derivatives), diversifying the offer, and introducing a mandatory listing for certain strategic companies, a measure adopted in the United States and India. This obligation, combined with tax incentives, would strengthen transparency, governance, and stock market capitalization.
