Zürcher Nachrichten - As Tunisia's economy falters, medical tourism flourishes

EUR -
AED 3.766568
AFN 72.914596
ALL 97.781164
AMD 406.953016
ANG 1.848117
AOA 935.240708
ARS 1062.018828
AUD 1.66908
AWG 1.848433
AZN 1.747392
BAM 1.946712
BBD 2.070496
BDT 125.084856
BGN 1.957145
BHD 0.386572
BIF 3033.446266
BMD 1.025483
BND 1.402462
BOB 7.085476
BRL 6.280229
BSD 1.025493
BTN 88.251905
BWP 14.432751
BYN 3.355896
BYR 20099.463259
BZD 2.059845
CAD 1.489201
CDF 2943.136063
CHF 0.93984
CLF 0.037515
CLP 1035.163783
CNY 7.519562
CNH 7.551092
COP 4455.979221
CRC 517.623998
CUC 1.025483
CUP 27.175295
CVE 109.754248
CZK 25.104029
DJF 182.24921
DKK 7.467262
DOP 62.951042
DZD 139.334285
EGP 51.791557
ERN 15.382242
ETB 128.678041
FJD 2.398301
FKP 0.812164
GBP 0.840043
GEL 2.89703
GGP 0.812164
GHS 15.12557
GIP 0.812164
GMD 73.325971
GNF 8866.522649
GTQ 7.912983
GYD 214.545193
HKD 7.988255
HNL 26.079291
HRK 7.355692
HTG 133.963772
HUF 413.762205
IDR 16732.956986
ILS 3.778509
IMP 0.812164
INR 88.391954
IQD 1343.333817
IRR 43160.012072
ISK 144.839589
JEP 0.812164
JMD 160.7894
JOD 0.727482
JPY 161.713554
KES 132.728636
KGS 89.217365
KHR 4144.973704
KMF 490.232455
KPW 922.933964
KRW 1511.689901
KWD 0.316366
KYD 0.854577
KZT 541.195798
LAK 22375.292726
LBP 91829.583004
LKR 302.054362
LRD 191.759782
LSL 19.487836
LTL 3.027985
LVL 0.620305
LYD 5.068537
MAD 10.305841
MDL 19.166024
MGA 4855.71127
MKD 61.514971
MMK 3330.728196
MNT 3484.590487
MOP 8.223353
MRU 40.922963
MUR 48.023749
MVR 15.796269
MWK 1778.137975
MXN 21.24606
MYR 4.611088
MZN 65.532176
NAD 19.489539
NGN 1591.006216
NIO 37.73385
NOK 11.76824
NPR 141.202164
NZD 1.844062
OMR 0.394366
PAB 1.025493
PEN 3.858488
PGK 4.11087
PHP 60.512755
PKR 285.571367
PLN 4.269649
PYG 8052.039455
QAR 3.738249
RON 4.980877
RSD 117.193241
RUB 104.230108
RWF 1426.452286
SAR 3.849445
SBD 8.65448
SCR 14.727599
SDG 616.315522
SEK 11.508587
SGD 1.405326
SHP 0.812164
SLE 23.330115
SLL 21503.865086
SOS 586.010091
SRD 35.999613
STD 21225.423919
SVC 8.972029
SYP 2576.556598
SZL 19.485557
THB 35.613006
TJS 11.187746
TMT 3.58919
TND 3.291435
TOP 2.401787
TRY 36.315119
TTD 6.961047
TWD 33.955073
TZS 2567.25936
UAH 43.363404
UGX 3791.595782
USD 1.025483
UYU 44.771651
UZS 13286.171552
VES 55.18254
VND 26016.499127
VUV 121.747374
WST 2.833191
XAF 652.959778
XAG 0.033731
XAU 0.000381
XCD 2.771419
XDR 0.789675
XOF 652.918582
XPF 119.331742
YER 255.601965
ZAR 19.595798
ZMK 9230.579631
ZMW 28.327969
ZWL 330.205049
  • RBGPF

    -2.6900

    59.31

    -4.54%

  • GSK

    -0.6600

    33.09

    -1.99%

  • SCS

    -0.3300

    10.97

    -3.01%

  • RIO

    0.2100

    58.84

    +0.36%

  • NGG

    -1.8500

    56.13

    -3.3%

  • AZN

    0.4300

    67.01

    +0.64%

  • RYCEF

    -0.1000

    7.1

    -1.41%

  • RELX

    -0.4000

    46.37

    -0.86%

  • VOD

    -0.1600

    8.05

    -1.99%

  • BTI

    -0.8400

    35.9

    -2.34%

  • CMSC

    -0.1800

    22.92

    -0.79%

  • BCC

    -1.5200

    115.88

    -1.31%

  • BCE

    -0.6700

    22.96

    -2.92%

  • JRI

    -0.1400

    12.08

    -1.16%

  • BP

    0.1700

    31.29

    +0.54%

  • CMSD

    -0.1500

    23.25

    -0.65%

As Tunisia's economy falters, medical tourism flourishes
As Tunisia's economy falters, medical tourism flourishes / Photo: FETHI BELAID - AFP

As Tunisia's economy falters, medical tourism flourishes

At a fertility clinic in Tunis, Bintou Yunoussa hopes doctors can finally help her conceive -- one of more than two million foreigners who travel to Tunisia annually for medical procedures.

Text size:

While Tunisians face economic hardships and their government is mired in debt, medical tourism has thrived and authorities are looking to expand the profitable sector even further.

Yunoussa, from Niger, said a relative had recommended the private clinic in the Tunisian capital after three years of unsuccessful treatments.

"My sister-in-law had twins after an insemination carried out in Tunisia," the 25-year-old told AFP. "That's why I chose to come here."

She was accompanied by her sister Khadija, 32, who had her eggs frozen five months ago in the same clinic, which specialises in medically assisted reproduction.

Nadia Fenina, a health ministry official, said Tunisia's highly specialised private clinics and skilled staff make it a leading medical tourism destination.

"Tunisia is number one in Africa in terms of healthcare demand and supply," Fenina told AFP.

Medical tourism has bounced back from a coronavirus-era halt, and the sector generates around 3.5 billion dinars ($1.1 billion) in annual revenues -- about half of Tunisia's overall tourism income last year.

"Medical tourism is linked to the general tourism sector, because a foreign patient is also a tourist who generally does not come alone," said Fenina.

"The promotion of medical tourism depends on the development of the tourism sector" as a whole, she added.

Accounting for nine percent of Tunisia's gross domestic product, tourism is crucial for the debt-stricken country where the economy has slowed down, with a World Bank estimate putting growth for 2023 at a modest 1.2 percent.

Last year, the small Mediterranean country of 12 million people drew nearly nine million tourists, according to official figures.

They included more than 500,000 foreign patients hospitalised in Tunisia and about two million others who had received same-day care, officials say.

- Chance to relax -

The Tunis clinic where Yunoussa was treated received 450 patients for in vitro fertilisation last year, many of whom from sub-Saharan African countries where some treatments may be unavailable or hard to access, said Dr Fethi Zhiwa.

Others came from elsewhere in North Africa as well as Western countries like Britain, Switzerland and Canada, said the doctor, citing affordable rates and Tunisia's "world-renowned fertility specialists" as the main drawing points.

Many European medical tourists come for cosmetic surgery, representing 15 percent of all treatments for foreigners in Tunisia, Fenina said.

Mohamed, a 59-year-old Libyan who gave his first name only, visits Tunisia twice a year to see his cardiologist for regular check-ups following an operation.

"This doctor saved my life, I will never change him," he said.

Travelling with his wife, the couple planned to use the latest trip to also "spend a few days relaxing in Tabarka", a town on Tunisia's northwestern coast, Mohamed said.

Tourism has "strong potential" in Tunisia and can grow "if we overcome some obstacles and limitations", said Fenina.

Direct flights to more African destinations and simpler visa procedures could help, she said, "which is why we are working to implement a medical visa".

The health ministry is also working on better coordination between medical tourism agencies, healthcare providers and other stakeholders, and collaborating with the private sector to set up facilities geared towards an elderly European clientele.

While the country has seen an alarming rise in anti-migrant sentiment, marked by violence and fiery remarks last year by the president painting "hordes" of Africans as a threat, Yunoussa said she felt welcome in Tunisia.

"I feel at home here," she said.

H.Roth--NZN