A cruise liner will dock in Tunis next month for the first time since a jihadist attack there in March 2015 that left 21 tourists dead, Tunisian authorities said Thursday. The ship will arrive on October 6 at La Goulette, a port on the northern edge of the city, an official at the national tourism office told AFP.
The German-operated MS Europa will bring in 350 passengers for a one-day stopover, said Mustapha Jabeur, head of the port. It will be the first such visit since the gun attack claimed by the Islamic State group at the National Bardo Museum in Tunis that killed 21 tourists and a policeman.
Many of the victims were on stopovers as part of cruise liner tours. The assault prompted several operators to cancel visits to Tunisia. "We are happy about this resumption, which is crucial for the relaunch of the cruise business and will restore the confidence of other shipowners," Jabeur said. "Every measure will be taken, particularly security-wise, to make sure everything goes well," he said. Prime Minister Youssef Chahed called the visit "good news". Italian cruise operators MSC and Costa Crociere, who lost passengers in the Bardo attack, said they had no immediate plans to return to Tunisia.