MOSCOW, March 16 (Itar-Tass) —— The Tunisian administration is considering the creation of the tourist police, but there are no plans to have the religious police, Tunisian Tourism Minister Ilyes Fakhfakh told reporters in Moscow on Friday.
Not a single attack on foreign tourists happened in Tunisia in 2011 despite the revolution, the minister said. “Even more attention is given to the security of foreign tourists now. The border with Libya is closed, and security is ensured in full,” he said.
Direct charter flights between Moscow and Tunis will begin in April, he said, noting that Tunisia would try to win over Russian tourists,
“Hopefully the number of Russian tourists will grow to 250,000 in 2012,” he said, recalling that the number stood at 188,000 in 2011. The indicator dropped 19% since 2010 due to the Tunisian revolution.
The minister denied rumors claiming the alleged formation of ‘the religious police’. “Although the conservative Islamic party makes up the majority of the current government, information about the creation of the religious police is unfounded,” he said.
“We live in a secular country, and this policy is acknowledged and respected even by religious parties. The Tunisian prime minister told Russian tour operators lately that the national government would ensure the observation of rights and freedoms of visitors. The idea is to change Tunisia, not to make it a closed country,” Fakhfakh said.