The Tourists- Oscar Scafidi
Oscar Scafidi
On arrival to Tunisia, Oscar realized that there hadn’t been an updated English travel guide for the country in over 10 years. He set out to change that. Purchase Your Copy Here!
When I hear ‘Mediterranean’ I probably get the same images in my head that you do. Rocky islands surrounded by clear water. Stone villas built into oceanside cliffs, maybe sundrenched hill sides dotted with olive and juniper trees. These images, in my American expectation, are associated with southern Europe. Imagine my surprise when I landed in Tunisia, and was greeting by these same landscapes.
Tunisia is the second most visited country in Africa, recording close to 9,000,000 entries in 2019. Creating over 92,000 jobs, its tourism industry made up almost 10% of its GDP in 2022. That number is expected to raise above 15% by 2025. This is largely due to the wide offering of unique destinations. Golden Mediterranean beaches meet the dunes of the Sahara dessert. Cultural excursions include everything from ancient roman sites to iconic Star Wars filming sets. Plenty of youtubers have trekked across Tunisia’s jagged countryside, tasted its food, and posted their stunning images. With so much to see and do, it hard to believe that Tunisia remains a largely ‘unknown’ destination for Americans.
There are projects that are addressing this issue. The US alone is investing $50,000,000 into its Visit Tunisiacampaign. This project is designed to bolster Tunisia’s tourism sector with a special interest in sustainable/eco and local operations. Others are lending their hand as well. The next few episodes of Multiply Tunisia will focus in on those who are contributing to, and being impacted by the ebbs and flows of tourism in Tunisia. As we tour around, we will keep our focus on English, its importance to the sector, and how Tunisians are using it to keep up with all those tourists.
First up is Oscar Scafidi. Oscar isn’t Tunisian, but he recently published a Bradt Tour Guide for Tunisia. I met up with Oscar in a busy streetside café to talk about his guide, his love for Tunisia and how he set about creating the first English tour guide for Tunisia in over 10 years.