Tunisia recorded 1,527,891 tourist arrivals from January 1 to May 20 – up 46% compared to the same period in 2016.

In a tourism report, the Tunisian National Tourist Office said the visitor increase marked “the start of a recovery in European tourism” for the nation.

According to the findings, tourism from the Maghreb region “remains predominant”, accounting for 60.2% of tourists arriving during this period, with 1,148,037 visitors – a 51.6% year-on-year increase.

Among Tunisia’s traditional European tourist markets the destination boasted a 31.1% overall rise as it welcomed 153,050 French tourists - up 45.1% on the same period last year - followed by German visitors as it recorded 37,909 and Italian tourists with 28,807 travelling to its shores.

Tunisia also reported 8,943 British arrivals and welcomed 44,754 Russians – an increase of 2.6% compared to 2016.

The number of overnight stays in the country grew by 31% compared to the previous year with 714,000, from January 1 to April 20, 2017.

According to a report by the Central Bank of Tunisia, tourism revenues at the end of April 2017 posted a slight increase of 5.2%, compared to a 46.4% increase in non-resident inflows.