At the head of Groupe Horchani’s tourism division, Hassen Cherif is busy reopening the Odyssée Resort Zarzis, scheduled for March 22, followed by the launch of the two new units acquired, the Tozeur Plaza (formerly Palmeraie) and the Tamerza Palace, which will open their doors by June. These investments augur well for the Group’s strategy of focusing on Saharan tourism.
TOURISCOPE: Is it courageous or foolhardy to invest in Saharan hotels at a time when the region’s performance is less than stellar?
Hassen Cherif: If you look closely, Saharan tourism is more buoyant than you might think. It offers a whole range of products, from excursions and tours to MICE groups and local tourism during school vacations. Our two new hotels are well configured for a mix of these different activities. They have around 100 rooms each and plenary rooms with a capacity of 200 people, in addition to committee rooms. These hotels offer an exceptional setting: The Tamerza Palace overlooks the oasis, while the Tozeur Plaza has its own palm grove. Finally, with the Odyssée Resort thalassotherapy center in Zarzis and the exceptional Tamerza spa, our offer includes top-quality treatments and cures.
A common misconception about Saharan tourism is that it is limited to winter. This is not the case at all, as most excursions are made in summer by seaside clientele. The same misconception applies to thalassotherapy, whose peak season is outside the winter season. This product mix enables traffic to be spread out throughout the year.
We want our units to reflect the rich heritage of the South, and at the same time benefit its inhabitants and craftsmen and women.
What’s more, in choosing the South, we had the ambition of promoting the region and local materials. We want our units to reflect the region’s rich heritage, and at the same time benefit its inhabitants and craftsmen and women. For the Tozeur hotel, for example, we have already used more than 170,000 traditional bricks, and palm wood has been given pride of place. In our two new hotels, the bed rails are made from real local mergoum, the work of local craftswomen.
The traditional Tozeur brick, an integral part of the local heritage.
Over 170,000 bricks already laid at Tozeur Plaza.
Photos from “A brick kiln in Tozeur” on TunisiaTourismTV
Indeed, the common misconception about thalassotherapy is that it’s a winter product…
The best thalasso sales figures are recorded during the summer months, because the center’s frequentation is linked to hotel occupancy. Even if it’s true that it’s a “discovery thalasso” through a few treatments, and that the sale of full courses by TOs essentially concerns the winter.
That said, this sales structure is not set in stone. Sales of treatment courses could be boosted by new markets, notably the Czech Republic and Russia, on which we need to focus our communication. In addition to the activity mix, we need a mix of both traditional and new markets. The hotel industry is doing a good job of prospecting new markets. Communication must follow, and I’m convinced that air travel will too.