What is the situation in Tunisia for tourists. International scandal: two Russian tourists are missing in Tunisia. Tourist facilities: they check everyone without exception

: The revolution that took place here in 2011 sharply worsened the rating of this country in the tourism market. Then it all happened again in 2013. And now a couple of years have passed, the passions seem to have subsided and tourists again began to willingly rest in the resorts of Tunisia. But there is no stability in the Tunisian state ...

On Friday, June 26, in the Tunisian city of Sousse, terrorists tripled shooting right on the beach, as a result of which 40 foreign tourists, mainly citizens of Great Britain and Germany, were injured. After that, foreign tour operators began to take their tourists out of the country, as well as offer those who had just yet to fly to Tunisia to exchange their tour for any other. For example, the tour operator TUI is alternatively targeting its European tourists to Spain, Greece and Portugal. But the prospect of "freezing" flights to Tunisia is being discussed here. If at first a large tour operator business in Europe considered the possibility of a complete blocking of Tunisia, now the position has softened.

Concerning Russian tourists, that here everything is a little different. After all, our tourists do not have so many alternatives to inexpensive visa-free Tunisia - well, and even more. And as many thalassotherapy centers as in Tunisia, there is definitely no other resort.

What else is worth a trip to Tunisia for - read in detail, and what are the conditions for rest in Tunisia in the 2016 season -

Can I go there?

Therefore, many Russians did not abandon their plans to visit Tunisia. Moreover, none of the tour operators announced any refunds for tours to Tunisia. And in general, n donkey tragic events in the city of Sousse, authorities Tunisia decided to take some measures to support the tourism segment. As the head of the Tunisian national tourist office in Moscow, Mezhid Kahlawi, said, the 15 euros tax, which tourists had to pay at the airport when leaving the country, was canceled. Also, according to him, in July and August, the Tunisian government is ready to compensate Russian operators 40% of the seats on charter flights... The tour operator will need to take on only 50% of the filling of the flight.

In addition, security measures are now seriously strengthened in Tunisia. Now the tourist police will be armed. It will ensure the safety of tourists on the beaches and in hotels. Special patrols will keep order on the territory of the resorts. “We hope that the measures we have taken will allow tourists to feel comfortable and safe in Tunisia, and interest in the destination will recover,” the Tunisian authorities say.

What will Tunisia prepare for tourists?

Yes, I want to believe that the security measures taken will provide tourists calm season in Tunisia. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, he continues to closely monitor the situation in Tunisia. “According to the Tunisian authorities, the situation in the country is stable. The security forces are taking the necessary additional measures to ensure security in Tunisian cities, at strategic sites and tourist resorts, ”the ministry said in a statement.

Nevertheless, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Rostourism recommend that Russian citizens who are on vacation in the country exercise the utmost vigilance and discretion, do not leave the resort areas, refrain from visiting crowded places, and maintain close contact with the Russian Embassy and tour operators.

So personally, I would like to ask - is it possible to go to Tunisia- answered this:

if you have already bought a ticket to Tunisia , then you shouldn't give up the trip. After all, these are the same Europeans who can afford to spend 500 euros (about the same as the minimum tour to Tunisia now) on a tour and not fly - for them this amount is not critical for the budget (with an average salary of 2500-3000 euros). But for Russians, in order to allocate this amount for vacation, sometimes they have to postpone several months from their salaries.

And if you are just planning your vacation, then along with Tunisia you can choose others visa-free countries... Explore the top 5 visa-free destinations this summer at.

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When traveling to Tunisia, do not forget that this is an Islamic state, where 95% of the population is Muslim. Be careful with public displays of affection like kissing and hugging. It is also not customary to stare at women in a veil, and even more so to give them any signs of attention - there is a possibility that you will have to deal with their relatives. Also, you should not be shown in public, even a little drunk.

During the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which starts differently every year, but around July-August, all religious issues become even more acute, so you should be more modest.

The woman in the chador

Harassment in the streets

Here, unlike and, there are very few obsessive boyfriends who whistle after women. Basically, those who are trying to meet on the streets just want to walk at someone else's expense.

It is better to travel around Tunisia accompanied by a man, or at least not alone. You should not respond to cues and glances, as well as take harassment too personally. As a rule, local men do not go further than shouts. As in any other country, women should not walk the streets alone at night. If the courtship begins to cross personal boundaries, then you can express dissatisfaction out loud and threaten to call the police.

clothing

At the resorts, you can often see girls who walk in revealing outfits and sometimes even sunbathe topless, but it is better to dress not too frankly so as not to attract public attention.

Dressing rules apply to both men and women. Do not wear shorts and expose your torso first. And girls should remember that clothes should cover the shoulders, chest, stomach and legs, and at the same time should not be tight or transparent. It is also better to refrain from walking around the city in a swimsuit.

It is best to dress like the locals, in loose and light cotton clothing. The further you are from the big cities, the less revealing the outfit should be. Next to sacred places and mosques should be especially polite.

Fraud

Often among taxi drivers there are small fraudsters. They can put you in a taxi in which kilometers have already been turned on the meter. Sometimes drivers refuse to give change or slip smaller bills. If you like to negotiate a price and drive with the meter off, then you should make sure that you are not paying per person, but for everyone. Better to scout out rates from more experienced tourists so that they do not try to deceive you.

Other scammers may try to impose some kind of free excursion, which actually turns out to be paid and will look more like a strange whirling under the incomprehensible speech of the guide. Sometimes during this "tour" you will be offered to visit semi-legal shops, where the guides receive a commission for each client.

Taxi in Tunisia

Photographing

In Tunisia, there is a very serious ban on any photographing, not only of government and military buildings, but also of telecommunications, towers and bridges. Moreover, the police really strictly monitor the implementation of this law. Be sure to ask permission before taking a photo. local residents or policemen - otherwise it may end in a conversation with the officer of order.

Especially you should not take pictures of the presidential palace, located in Carthage - then a long conversation with people in uniform is definitely guaranteed for you.

Natural hazards

It should be remembered that Tunisia is a hot country, so in order not to get burned, it is better to try to walk outside as little as possible between noon and 4 pm. At this time, solar activity is especially high, so it is not recommended to sunbathe or just stay under the sun for a long time. If you are walking around the market or exploring the city for a long time, you should periodically look for shade and drop into air-conditioned cafes to cool off.

Drink a lot mineral water, it is advisable to have a whole bottle with you. In winter and summer, especially in August and September, it is imperative to wear sunglasses and a hat. High protection sunscreen should be worn on the beach.

However, warm clothes may be useful, as it can be cool enough in the desert and on the shore in the evenings, and you might want to take a walk.

Jellyfish

Jellyfish are found in the coastal waters of Tunisia, but you should not be afraid of them seriously. Sometimes their burns are painful, but the pain goes away after a few minutes. If the pain persists, then it is enough to rub the burn with a slice of tomato.

Most often, jellyfish live off the coast of Sousse, but they are also noticed in Monastir and Hammamet. They are most active in July-August, although there are years when jellyfish are not visible at all.

After the report of Rostourism about the increased level of terrorist threat in Tunisia, heated discussions flared up in the professional tourist environment. "What is it? - business participants are asking a question. - An attempt to deploy flows inland? In their opinion, a negative news feed can cause cancellations and a decrease in demand for the direction. Opponents object: the recommendations of the Federal Tourism Agency for Tunisia do not threaten the industry with anything serious - only the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can force to refuse to visit the country. And its head is silent on this topic.

Fly or not fly

“To confess, when I received an invitation to visit Tunisia, my first desire was to politely refuse. For the aforementioned reasons. Friends, relatives and even some colleagues also discouraged. On the other hand, the tragic events of the past year suggested that the country's authorities have certainly taken some measures to enhance security. In the end, professional curiosity won out.

Border control in international airport We passed Enfidah pretty quickly. Standard baggage check and increased attention to hand luggage caused a slight hitch. This did not allow us to see if the tourist bus that was already waiting for our group in the parking lot was checked at the entrance to the airport. However, over the next few days, I was able to review the whole process in detail.

Tourist facilities: they check everyone without exception

The delay in entering the territory of the Bardo Museum lasted for several minutes. Through the window one could see several policemen at once, one of whom was armed with a submachine gun, intently inspecting our bus. Not without an inspection mirror, which they walked under the entire lower part of the bus.

But this was only the first stage of control. Seeing a metal detector frame at the entrance to the museum and a concentrated guard checking the bag of one of the visitors with a special device, I understood why tourists are advised to take a minimum of things with them. Those who disobeyed ended up losing a few minutes - they had to not only go through the frame, but also wait until their bag was checked. Sometimes they even asked to open it. A similar procedure had to go through when visiting other tourist attractions - the Roman amphitheater in El Jem, the ancient part of the city of Hammamet, and even on the way to shops located on the territory of neighboring hotels.

How buses are guarded

Outside resort areas everything is not so simple. On the one hand, the presence of the police in cities is noticeable: both in the form of patrols on the streets, and in the form of checkpoints at intersections or next to busy highways. But on long hauls between cities, there is nothing like that anymore. As well as there are no armed convoys accompanying tourist buses. Deputy Director of the Tunisian travel company Voyages 2000 Nasser Bohamora notes that this is not necessary. Tourist buses are equipped with satellite satellite tracking, with the help of which the security services constantly track its location and "transfer" from one territorial unit to another. If the bus plans to stop at any cafe or shop, the service must be notified of this.

This, in fact, happened during our stop at one of the roadside cafes somewhere on the outskirts of the Sahara. No sooner had we got off the bus than two young men armed with machine guns appeared literally out of nowhere and began to stroll leisurely near the entrance. Then they also disappeared unnoticed somewhere. They will take up their post again upon the arrival of the next group of tourists, and where they are before is known only to them. Later I learned that such protection is formed not only from representatives of the tourist police. If necessary, the army and the National Guard of Tunisia can be involved.

Control and control again

How the hotels are guarded was best seen where we stayed. But it was immediately evident that they all did not at all look like buildings prepared for a siege. An illustrative example is the Iberostar Royal El Mansour, which can be accessed directly from the street by stepping over a hedge. Which I did, returning to the hotel after a morning walk. The silence was still broken only by the singing of birds. The siren did not howl, and the hotel security was in no hurry to pounce on me with handcuffs.

Is this a security flaw? I managed to talk about this with one of the hotel guards named Munir. Upon learning of my trick, he smiles indulgently: “Jumping over the bushes, you simply run into the windows of shops that are still closed at this time of year. You can get to the hotel itself only through the main entrance, that is, without inspection in any way. It doesn't matter if you live in this hotel or not. " From the sea, you can get to the hotel only through a single passage in a two-meter steel fence, near which there is at least one security guard, who is only slightly inferior in build to Mike Tyson.

But that is not all. It turns out that security guards always know who will walk past them in the next few seconds. And all because all of them can quickly communicate with each other via a walkie-talkie. A dispatcher is also in direct communication with them, who, in turn, monitors the entire territory of the hotel with the help of cameras. What they broadcast can be displayed on a large screen, any fragment can be highlighted and enlarged by considering even such details as the color and shape of the identification bracelet on a person's hand (in every hotel it is unique. - Ed.). Not to mention the number of the approaching car. “Our job is to keep an eye on everyone, while remaining invisible,” concludes Munir. Thanks for the personalized tour of the hotel. We shake hands, after which my palm aches for several more hours.

Inside the hotel, you can easily find armed guards.

Indeed, it is better to prevent a problem than to deal with its consequences. And yet, to what extent are the hotel security services ready to repel an attack if a terrorist breaks into the territory? I very soon received the answer to my question myself, when a tall young man in a bulletproof vest and with a submachine gun walked unhurriedly down the lobby of the hotel. Subsequently, I have repeatedly seen such submachine gunners in other hotels. At the entrance, in the lobby, in the corridors, on the beach, with and without service dogs, but always with weapons. It is generally impossible to photograph them, but they made an exception for me in exchange for a promise to hide their appearance when publishing a photo.

"What if someone decides to enter the hotel grounds, disguised as a waiter or maid?" - asked a question from one of the journalists during a tour of the Holiday Village Manar. The service manager of this hotel Katarina Kassar replies that such an option is excluded: it is forbidden to take the service personnel uniform outside the hotel. In addition, metal detectors have been installed at each entrance to the hotel, and the security staff has been increased. “And the work of our security guards is checked every two hours by the police,” adds the director of Mahdia Beach Lotfi Houaja.

Undercover agents

It is also interesting that the hotels have security personnel dressed in civilian clothes. They disguise themselves as ordinary tourists, they can be in the lobby or on the beach. They have weapons, but they know how to carry them unnoticed by others. Each hotel should have at least five of them (video cameras, by the way, at least 60, but in many hotels they decided not to waste time on trifles and installed much more). The patrol regularly makes rounds, trying not to attract too much attention to itself. The same "undercover agents" are located in resort towns and places with a large influx of tourists. In a word, you do not see them, but they see you.

Smart cameras: no one will go unnoticed

Another big advance in hotel security this season will be the arrival of smart cameras. This has already been done in Sousse and Monastir, and Hammamet is next in line. By the end of the summer they plan to equip all hotels in Tunisia. Nasser Bohamora is convinced that the implementation of this project will help prevent possible incidents even more effectively. Because, according to him, smart cameras are capable of calculating a person who has passed by them more than once. And instantly give his image to the dispatcher, who, in turn, will transfer this orientation to the security service. Of course, no one will immediately arrest a person who can simply walk or get lost. But special attention from the security service of the hotel is provided to him. Moreover, the object will not even suspect about it. “It’s better to overdo it than not to do it,” concludes Mr. Bohamora.

Forewarned is forearmed

Of course, everything cannot be foreseen. But the potential terrorist danger has been prevented as much as possible. Resident of Sousse Shokri Sadok, who has devoted himself to the profession of a guide for almost 20 years, says that the country's special services also do not sit idle. Those suspected of having links with terrorist organizations are required to report to the police station at all times. Most likely, they are under constant surveillance. Although one can only guess about this, the special services do not advertise their activities.

In addition, according to Tunisian law, if someone finds out that their acquaintance, friend or relative is associated with terrorists, he is obliged to report this to the police. Increased attention from law enforcement officers is also guaranteed to men who do not shave their beards, as this is what the collective image of a terrorist looks like. Whatever it was, but this explains the almost complete absence of bearded men on the streets of Tunisian cities.

At the same time, the inhabitants of Tunisia, both old and young, do not at all create the impression of intimidated people constantly expecting danger. Conclusions have been drawn from past incidents, and the country is optimistic about the future. And tourists are welcome here. This is exactly the thought that suggests itself when you see the hands of children, adolescents and even adults, welcomingly waving after our bus. And also their sincere smiles.

The editors of the site are grateful to the company Oasis Travel Ukraine for organizing the trip to Tunisia and assistance in preparing the material.

New possible victims of a holiday in North Africa. Two tourists from the Leningrad region missing.

The last time a resident of the village of Kamenka heard her mother's voice was on the phone on June 22. On this day, her parents flew to rest in Tunisia. The voucher expired on July 5, but the tourists never returned. Both phones are off and the hotel address is unknown. The Russian police have now joined in the search for the Leningraders lost in Tunisia.

Recently, Tunisia has been increasingly criticized by the Russians, the Federal Tourism Agency and the military who have rested there. And the experts' fears are not unfounded. Resort town today it is a place of constant clashes between the authorities and the people, rampant crime and repeated terrorist acts. The situation in Tunisia is, to put it mildly, unsafe.

Only in January 2018, a wave of popular unrest swept across Tunisia. Locals rebelled against soaring prices and tax hikes. Public discontent reached such proportions that the police fired tear gas. The tense political situation immediately scared away Russian travelers, the flow of tourists has decreased several times, noted in the Association of Tour Operators of Russia.

In the light of recent events, Rosturizm did not remain silent either. May 18, specialists from the Federal Agency warned that vacation in Tunisia is life threatening.

"Rosturizm recommends that Russian tourists planning travel to Tunisia observe personal safety measures, exercise prudence and caution while staying in the resorts of the cities of Sousse, Hammamet, Monastir, Djerba Island," the Rostourism statement said.

Russian tourists, who ignored the call for security, were captured by armed foreigners two weeks later. During the sightseeing walk, the bus stopped right in the middle of the track. Dozens of frightened tourists immediately rushed to send messages about what was happening to their relatives. As it turned out later, the emergency stop happened in connection with a rally of local residents.

Rostourism had already hinted that Tunisia is unsafe two years earlier. The resort town is regularly attacked by the criminal group ISIS (an organization banned in the Russian Federation).

The militants have repeatedly demonstrated their superiority by massacring tourists. For criminals, killing foreign guests is just a way to demonstrate their strength. The threat of attack remains to this day.

Moreover, the former leader of the criminal group Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi openly announced his intention to locate a terrorist base in Tunisia. And the current successor of Jalaludin al-Tunisi is a native of the city.

The militants are still carrying on dark affairs in North Africa. Evidence of this is the facts of the disclosure of more and more terrorist acts. So in 2017, the Ministry of Internal Affairs prevented a conspiracy to seize provinces in the south, and at the beginning of 2018 on clean water they brought out a gang that supplied military equipment to the militants.

According to news agencies, there is now an outflow of militants from Libya and Algeria. And as a new haven, the members of the dangerous group choose Tunisia. Which is not so surprising, because immigrants from this country are actively joining the ranks of ISIS militants (an organization banned in the Russian Federation). This is evidenced by the data of the Turkish Center for Strategic Research KAFKASSAM. Tunisia's reputation is also beaten by the fact that in February 2018 the European Commission put it on the list of countries that may be involved in the development of international terrorism.

The politically unstable state of affairs in the country also plays into the hands of terrorists. The situation may worsen with the election of a new mayor. The current mayor of Tunisia, Suad Abderrahim, represents the interests of the Islamist party "An-Nahda". The religious preferences of the latter, in this case, can give an impetus to the development of the terrorist power of ISIS (an organization banned in the Russian Federation).

Moreover, terrorist attacks are not the only thing to be afraid of when buying a ticket to Tunisia. Due to unsanitary conditions in the country, an outbreak of Dengue fever began. You can catch a dangerous infection through just one mosquito bite, the consequences of which are not the most pleasant - intoxication, rash, swollen lymph nodes. In addition, Russian tourists often bring rabies and the dangerous disease enfrom vacation.

The hostility of local residents and political upheavals in Tunisia today dictate their rules to tourists who risked rest there. Judging by the events taking place in the country, travelers can only hope for a miracle that a ticket to Tunisia will not become a one-way ticket.

Sergey Yarkovsky