10 Million Centimes, The Cost Of “New Year’s Eve Celebrations” In Algeria… For These Reasons, Tourists Prefer Tunisia!

The head of the National Association of Tourist Agencies Mr. Lyès Senoussi revealed that the cost to be paid by foreign tourists in Algeria during the New Year’s Eve celebrations exceeded 100,000 dinars in national currency, compared to 35,000 dinars for a travel to neighboring Tunisia, that is more than double the price for the same purpose.

He said that most of the hike in the price of services in Algeria laid in the cost of hotels and ticket planes, which remain very high, adding that most of those coming today to Tunisia to spend the New Year’s Eve celebrations are young people.

These youth are looking for dance and entertainment, and they are transported by bus rather than via organized flights, he indicated to this effect.

Mr. Senoussi told “Echorouk” that it is now difficult to give accurate statistics on Algerians heading to spend New Year’s Eve celebrations abroad.

However, their numbers are very few and include only the privileged and not all strata of society, in light of the low living capacity and high prices, he said, stressing that some people choose to go to Saudi Arabia to perform “Umrah” or small pilgrimage instead of traveling to celebrate in Europe, while a large group of young people are flocking towards Tunisia to live it up there in light of the low prices offered in that country.

The latter travel either by car or bus as the cost of the trip to Tunisia is set between 35 thousand and 40 thousand dinars, compared to 100 thousand dinars to be paid in Algeria to stay in a hotel by being provided transport at will and easy access to acceptable services.

In a related context, Mr. Senoussi also spoke about the large turnout of Algerians this year, led by the category of families eager to embark upon desert tourism, pointing out that the demand has been still in place until now, but the lists were closed because of the full booking of all flights and hotels, notably towards the southern destinations of Biskra, Oued Souf and Illizi.

He further underlined that the cost to be paid by these tourists for spending New Year’s Eve celebrations in the south with on focus for Algerians coming from the north of the country is equivalent to 60,000 dinars.

Meanwhile, the price of 9 foreign hard currencies has risen sharply in the black market because of the increased demand for the euro, the dollar, the Tunisian dinar, the Turkish lira and the UAE Dirham as the New Year steadily approaches.

Regarding the exchange rate of the euro in the informal hard currency market at the Port Said Square in downtown Algiers, it is now set at 21,500 dinars for sale and 21,400 dinars for purchase (for 100 euros), while the US dollar reached 18,700 dinars for sale and 18,500 dinars for purchase (for 100 US dollars), and the exchange rate of the pound sterling exceeded 23,800 dinars for sale and 23,600 dinars for purchase (for 100 pounds), the Canadian dollar reached for its part 14,000 dinars for sale and 13,900 dinars for purchase (for 100 Canadian dollars) and finally the Tunisia dinar, which is one of the most important currencies that is most popular among Algerians because of their frequent mobility towards Tunisia, reached 64 dinars for purchase and 62 dinars for sale.