Tunisia – new kid on the block

Rapidly emerging as one of the most serious locations to consider for property investment purposes in the Mediterranean region, Tunisia is something of a new kid on the block for property seekers but it’s relatively fresh property market is built on incredibly strong fundamentals making it worthy of much closer inspection. Peter Richards investigates.

Tunisia offers visitors 700 miles of sandy beaches, a dramatic and ancient history, conservation parks, botanical gardens, acres of golf courses, water parks, scuba diving, historic souks, stress-relieving thalassotherapy spas and the mysterious Sahara. If you’re wondering why you’ve not heard of Tunisia before as a location for holiday home investment purchases, part of the reason is that the nation has recently just finalised legislation allowing for the transparent freehold ownership of real estate by foreign citizens; however, that’s just part of the picture. In the past Tunisia has preferred to focus its internal efforts on reforms to introduce political pluralism and therefore stability, and to boost and reinforce the economy.

Local transport...

The government was wholly focused on the creation of a robust and stable nation before it sought international investment as it wanted to have the right platform in place to attract sustainable fiscal commitment.  Now it’s benefiting from hindsight and learning from the triumphs and also the trials of similar markets such as Egypt and Morocco, and Tunisia is going forward to create a healthy property-based economic sector.

As Tunisia’s economy has been ranked the most competitive in Africa and the Arab World in the Global Competitiveness Report from the World Economic Forum, and the International Monetary Fund predicts impressive GDP growth in Tunisia for the coming years making the nation’s growth predictions one of the highest in the Mediterranean region, serious investors are beginning to turn their collective and focused attentions on Tunisia.

A healthy property market

With its 1,100 kilometres of sun caressed Mediterranean coastline, its fabulous resorts, incredible history, pristine beaches and well established tourism industry which is on target for an average annual growth rate of 4.3 per cent over the next decade according to the World Travel and Tourism Council, Tunisia has everything in place to build a healthy property market based largely on tourism.

The nation is already easily accessible from across the whole of Europe; for example there are daily scheduled flights from the UK that take less than 2½ hours to reach Tunisia. It’s also a country not solely reliant on British tourism – therefore there is demographic diversification in terms of visitor arrivals which lessens an investor’s risk and broadens their letting potential base.

Time to cool off...

Tunisia is currently negotiating an Open Skies Agreement and there’s speculation that low cost flight operators such as Ryanair will follow – should it happen this will be yet another massive boost for both tourism and property market potential.

In terms of the potential already in place for an investor, according to Steve Worboys, managing director of Experience International: “There’s strong and increasing demand for straightforward summer holiday accommodation in the most popular resorts such as exclusive Port El Kantaoui on Tunisia’s Gold Coast, and this is attracting investor commitment but what’s more, the government is now actively working on the development of alternative types of tourism in Tunisia which further opens up investment potential.”

For example, Tunisia is the second most popular nation in the Mediterranean after France for thalassotherapy and the nation’s government wants to begin the further development and promotion of such alternative and high-end forms of tourism to draw greater numbers of wealthier visitors. This will have a double impact for an investor; it will give them greater demand to promote their property and it will potentially allow for rental yield growth as wealthy demand will increase pressure on property availability, thus inflating underlying rental rates.

Golf tourism

Tunisian cuisine is based on the use of olive oil and spices with the appropriate quantities of ingredients blended together. All recipes use natural products and simple ingredients of a high quality. These simple ingredients are used to make refined dishes. Frozen foods are shunned and the emphasis is on fresh, wholesome ingredients.

Couscous is the national dish and is served with vegetables, lamb, poultry or fish. The couscous is steamed and served covered in a sauce. The ingredients of the sauce give each type of couscous its own unique taste.

In restaurants customers will always be served fresh bread, olives and harissa, which is a hot chilli dip, made of crushed, dried red peppers, garlic and spices. This is also the mainstay of many Tunisian dishes.

Popular red wines are Vieux Magon, Chateau St Augustin and Sélian, while popular whites include Chateau St Augustin and Ugni Blanc. Rosé wines, such as Cote ux de Carthage and Chateau Mornag are also popular.

Golf tourism is another high-end area being actively developed, with five courses coming to completion across the nation’s key resorts in the coming five years. Investors who want to get in ahead of the curve are being attracted to one of the most attractive golf resorts in ever-popular Port El Kantaoui.

The Dunes Golf & Sand Resort is a beautiful beachside development situated within reach of two main airports that offer direct and inexpensive flights to major European cities. The apartment development is therefore highly accessible and is close to all main facilities such as a 36-hole golf course, marina and restaurants.

The Dunes

The resort also features a thalasso spa, indoor swimming pool, Turkish baths, sauna, gym, beauty and massage treatment rooms, a restaurant, snack bar, supermarket and a rental management company. Properties make an excellent investment or second home choice starting from only £20,646 for a studio apartment.

Call Experience International on 020 7321 5858 or visit www.experience-international.com for further information.

Also, try the website: www.cometotunisia.co.uk for general information about the country or phone 020 7224 5561

Tunisia encore

The BW Group confirms that Tunisia is emerging as the next property market to take off – prices are low, just like they were in Morocco five years ago and the country is ideally positioned geographically. It serves as a gateway between Africa and Europe, especially France. This stable Arab country is regarded as more Mediterranean in nature with its prime spot on the beautiful Mediterranean coast.

It was only in 2006 that the real estate market opened up to foreign ownership and The World Travel and Tourism Council forecasts an annual increase of 4.3% between 2009 and 2018. This may be even higher since tourism rose by 4.7% during the first half of 2008 and is set to continue rising.

The BW Group has announced the launch of its new fractional development in Tunisia, The International Riviera, which will create a new destination in itself and in fact a whole new city. The International resort development comprises 60,000 wholly owned and shared properties as well as a casino complex, golf, spa, marinas, retail and several well-known hotel brands.

The International Riviera resort development has affiliated with The Registry Collection – the largest luxury exchange programme which allows fractional owners to swap their usage time to stay at its other destinations around the world.
With waterfront property in high demand and the world’s natural resources limited, this is an opportunity to co-own one of the 50 water villas.
Contact details are available at: internationalriviera@thebwgroup.eu