After Friday’s attack that killed at least 38 tourists and wounded at least 39 others on the beach outside the Hotel Riu Imperial Marhaba in the Tunisian coastal city of Sousse, the Tunisian Ministry of Tourism and Handicrafts announced new safety measures. The tourist police units will be armed while on duty inside and outside the tourist zones and units as of July 1, 2015.
Some 1,000 security officers will be deployed to boost this corps as well as fixed and mobile security units will be assigned near these zones.
A working session held, late on Saturday night, under the chairmanship of Mr.Mohamed Najem Gharsali, Minister of Interior and Mrs. Selma Elloumi-Rekik, Minister of Tourism and Handicrafts with attendance of Mr. Rafik Chelli, Secretary of State in charge of Security Affairs and the Presidents of hotel federations, travel agencies and tourist restaurants.
The Minister of Tourism announced the state's will to support the tourist sector, boost its growth and improve its visibility, given its strong economic and social content since more than one million Tunisians earn their living from this sector.
Other measures are also examined providing for the security of the cultural and archaeological sites, security escort of tourist excursions, development of spaces for guarded parking areas for tourist transport vehicles, training cycles for the hotel security officers and financing methods of the surveillance equipment.
Source: TAP
