The tour operator “Iberojet” reinforces its presence in Tunisia

MADRID, January 21, 2010
 
"Tunisair" concluded in Madrid, Thursday, January 21, a partnership agreement with the Spanish tour operator "Iberojet" during the Tunisian participation in the international tourism fair "Fitur 2010".
“Iberojet” is one of the most important airlines working on “Tunisia” destination and ensuring about 85% of flights operated by Tunisair to Tunisia and about 58 000 Spanish tourists per year. Under this lasting three years agreement, Tunisair is committed to provide, for all Spanish tour operator customers, flights to Tunisia and to offer them benefits of quality services.
In turn, "Iberojet" will increase the number of Spanish tourists travelling to Tunisia from 10% to 15%. The agreement was signed by MM. CHETTAOUI Nabil, CEO of Tunisair and CARMONA Sigur Jose, Executive Director of “Iberojet”.
The CEO of Tunisair said that the agreement aims to attract more Spanish tourists and to more stimulate the Tozeur-Madrid direct line which is experiencing an occupancy rate of around 40%. Mr CHETTAOUI Nabil added that this rate, did not achieve the expected profitability objectives, especially through adopting preferential prices to promote Saharan tourism.
For the Spanish market, Mr CHETTAOUI announced that the Tunis-Madrid line will insure 4 flights per week instead of 3, starting from July 2010.
By 2011, it is also expected to increase the number of weekly flights on the Tunis-Barcelona line from 3 flights per week to 4, in addition to charter flights that cover already about 14 Spanish cities.
Concerning the results achieved during 2009, Tunisair has carried 3.5 million passengers which means a decline of 5.5 % compared to 2008 that was considered as an exceptional year for the national carrier.
The Tunisair managers explain that this recession is due to the decline of the charter flights that recorded a decline of 17%, the cancellation of the Omra flights (small pilgrimage) and pilgrimage.
However, regular flights experienced an increase of 3.3% due to the inauguration of 15 new lines, the promoting attempts and the competitive rates adopted by the national carrier.
For 2010, managers expect an increase from 4% to 5% in passengers, insisting on the fact that the actual recovery will be recorded in 2011.