First cruise ship docks in Tunisia since deadly 2015 attack on tourists
Visitors and businesses in Tunis breathe a sigh of relief and voice renewed hope as the first liner in more than a year arrives following a deadly terrorist attack that left 21 tourists dead
A celebratory band played as a cruise liner docked on Thursday in the port of Tunis for the first time since a March 2015 jihadist attack killed 21 tourists in the Tunisian capital.
The German-operated MS Europa motored into La Goulette with 310 passengers on board for a one-day stopover.
The tourists, cameras at the ready, were greeted by a band of soldiers playing trumpets and drums, as well as camels and North African dancing, and shopkeepers garlanded them with jasmine necklaces as they disembarked.
“It’s huge for me to be reopening my shop and it warms my heart to see life return to the village,” says 39-year-old Haifa Dargouth.
Tunisian authorities, who ordered high security for the visit, hope to lure back the big cruise operators who have abandoned the country for the past 18 months since the gun attack on the capital’s Bardo National Museum.
