I had a good friend in high school who had a stepdad of sorts. This guy went on some motorcycle trip in Tunisia and told me all about it when he got back. He was very enthusiastic about the experience. Up to that point the only times I had ever thought about Tunisia were when reading about World War Two and after I learned that parts of Star Wars were filmed there. I always remembered the motorcycle trip story, though, and it informed how I thought about the country. It was a desirable vacation destination, and popular with European tourists.
Later on, I learned more about the interesting politics of the place, and I watched with some fascination as things unfolded there during the early part of the Arab Spring.
After the events of this week, however, I don’t think that Europeans or people like me will be contemplating a vacation in Tunisia any time soon.
I’m just guessing here, but I am pretty confident that destroying the tourist industry of the country was the whole point of the beach massacre. And I can’t see how the attack can fail to be successful in this regard.
Something similar happened in Egypt in 1997, but Egypt has some advantages over Tunisia. Anyone who is interested in ancient history and wants to see the Pyramids has to go to Egypt, but there any many nice beaches to bathe on besides the ones on the Tunisian coast. I understand why people eventually flocked back to Egypt but I cannot see any reason why people will ever want to go back to Tunisia.
It’s a two-way street, as well. Part of what made Europeans want to spend time in Tunisia was that the country was moderate and tolerant. Part of what kept Tunisia that way was the constant exposure to people from other faith traditions and cultures. If outsiders stop visiting Tunisia it will eventually stop being a welcoming place to outsiders. And this is how the religious fanatics win.
