The Tunisian Tourism Ministry said that 4.4 million foreign tourists visited the country from January 1 through July 31 this year, up 23% compared with the same period in 2017. The minister added that revenues from the tourism sector reached 1.7 billion Tunisian dinars (about 554 million euros), up 42% on the same period last year. According to the ministers estimate, at the end of the year, a total of over 8 million tourists will visit Tunisia. A reported 7 million visited in 2017 and 6 million in 2016. The tourism sector in Tunisia is in progress towards rebalancing. Head of Tunisian Federation of Travel and Tourism Agencies said that record bookings were made during the past months and tourists number might exceed 8 million this year. He expected the tourism season in 2018 to be a boom, with the return of several traditional markets to Tunisia such as the French, English and Dutch. According to hotel reservations announced by a group of local and foreign agencies in Tunisia, more than 600,000 French are willing to visit Tunisia this summer – the number might reach 850,000 French tourists. Tunisian tourism was strongly affected by terrorist operations in 2015, in which a tourist hotel was attacked in Sousse (west the Tunisian capital) leading to the death of 22 foreign tourists. Also, German tourists increased by 42% while the Russians by 57%. Eastern Europe markets also witnessed positive development not to mention the huge hike in markets of Belgium, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands. The Chinese market was a surprise for the tourism season in which it saw a 46% increase since the beginning of the year. Thomas Cook travel agency affirmed that to meet demand, the airline has increased flights to Tunisia from three times a week in February to 11 at the beginning of the summer.