12 years
With only one other hostel in the city, it sounds like it could work. I've never been to Tunisia though...
Opinons on opening a hostel in Tunis
Start a Hostel
Hi Everyone,
I'm new to the site and interested in opening a hostel in Tunis, Tunisia. I believe that what I have in mind might possibly be a winner, given the lack of hostels in this city (there's one located in the old medina and it's by all accounts terrible - cheap but there's exactly one hour of hot water in the morning every day). I'd like to rent out a ~6 bedroom/2 bathroom villa, in an area around downtown preferably, and make it a place that people would want to stay - safe, comfortable and fun. For that (to oversimplify), I'd need nice furniture, a car for airport pickups and tours, and the ability to sell beer and wine to guests.
There are, as well, certain risks involved in this project. First, I have yet to speak to anyone in the government/ Ministry of Tourism regarding this project. Therefore, I have a lack of information about zoning laws and regulations for hostels here, as well as not knowing whether or not it will be possible (or necessary) to get a liquor license. Second, while Tunis is a safe city I would not want guests to feel uncomfortable at my hostel; my big worry is that I have to turn down the group of 10 guys from Libya who stay at the place because they know that blonde haired girls from Europe stay there as well. As the owner, I want to ensure a quality stay for the 19 year old Estonian girl and not have her be subjected to catcalling from disparate groups of men. Third, there is direct competition from large scale resorts in Tunisia, and most tourists to the country come on a package tour which is usually already discounted. I do feel, however, that one of the main problems with tourism in Tunisia is this "all inclusive" mindset that people show up and sit on a beach while missing all the great things there are to see in this country. I think that backpackers would enjoy the wealth of historical, environmental and cultural experiences they can have while exploring the city here.
What I've got going for me is that I've academically studied Tunisian history thoroughly, worked in journalism here and can speak Arabic. I've also thought and prepared some figures for the first couple of months and discovered that what little capital I may have might be enough to get this thing up and running. If anyone has any suggestions and/or knows Tunisia or Tunis I'd be happy to hear them! Also, please let me know if you'd even consider traveling to Tunisia on a backpacking tour or for a quick trip!
Looking forward to your feedback,
Sean
- Comments
12 years
I´m pretty sure it would work.
Go and talk to the Ministry of Tourism. I wouldn´t mention anything about a liquor license or about mixed dorms BEFORE you have opened a hostel so they don´t get a wrong ipression of what a hostel actually is. You can take care of that later - when they know you aren´t running a whorehouse.
I guess you will have to turn down those Libyan guys all the time, but why would that be a worry? It´s your good right to decide who you want to deal with.
12 years
I haven't been to Tunisia, so I can't comment directly on that country. I was in Morocco this year however, and maybe some of the things there can be translated, as they both seem to be moderate Muslim states. I was speaking to a French woman who ran a group of four flats we were staying at in the old town area. The biggest headache she had I think was with anyone bringing locals back to the flats. Obviously backpackers will want to mix with the local people, however she said that if the local police discovered that European guys had local girls in the flats, even perfectly innocently she would have her license revoked. Or if local guys were coming there and drinking then there would be trouble too. And she seemed to think that the neighbours would be happy to let the police know of any indiscretions, as they wouldn't want to have things like that going on next to them. I would have thought that this could be a major issue for a hostel. AS long as you only took Non-Muslims in the hostel I'd imagine no-one would care that much what happened.
Also in Morocco there seems to be very different standards accepted depending where you are. If you are in the New area of town then you might not think it's a lot different to a a European city, but in the Medina, or old town, they tend to be a lot more conservative. I would imagine that the same would be true of the Tunisian resorts - things would go on there that wouldn't be acceptable to most Tunisians, but as long as it stays there and just involves Europeans they probably don't care that much. If you want to set up in the old town area, where most backpackers might want to stay, personally I wouldn't take any Local (or Libyan for that matter) people - the risk would seem to be too great to me. I'd also not allow alcohol at all, but I'm not sure how liberal Tunisia is on this. It was technically not illegal in Morocco, but obviously very much frowned upon, and if you (perhaps accidentally) supplied it to Muslims, you might have trouble.
You might well be aware of all this, or I could be totally wrong, just thought I'd share my experiences
12 years
contact Russian tour operators. Tunis (also Tunisia is "Tunis" in Russia) the country, is popular as no visa formulation is necessary for Russians. a flight is about $250 with hotel for a week included. i was considering going, then the revolution started!
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