Tune in to Tunisia
by Charlotte Ashton
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; but it’s relatively fresh property market is built on incredibly strong base fundamentals making it worthy of much closer inspection.
If you’re now wondering why you’ve not heard of Tunisia before as a location for holiday-home-type 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. 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.
With its 1,100 kilometres of sun caressed Mediterranean coastline, its fabulous resorts, incredible history, pristine beaches and very well established tourism industry which is on target for an average annual growth rate of 4.3% 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 highly accessible from across the whole of Europe; for example there are daily scheduled flights from the UK that take less than 2 ½ hours to reach Tunisia. It’s also a country not solely reliant on British tourism demand – therefore there is demographic diversification in terms of visitor arrivals which lessens an investor’s risk and broadens their base letting potential. Tunisia is currently negotiating an Open Skies Agreement and there’s speculation that cheap flight operators such as Ryanair will follow – should this come to pass 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, MD 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 visitor. This will have a double impact for an investor, it will give them a greater base of demand to promote their property to 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 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 first, most attractive golf resorts in ever-popular Port El Kantaoui. The Dunes at El Kantaoui 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 it is close to all main facilities such as a 36-hole golf course, marina and restaurants. The resort also features a thallasso 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 £20,000.
Call Experience International on 0800 612 0901 or visit www.experience-international.com
