Given its situation in the Mediterranean and the fact that it is three hours, at most, away from Europe, Djerba has become the destination of big number of tourists who are looking for exotism, calmness, and beauty of landscapes. Out of the 125Km of coasts, Djerba has 20Km of sandy beaches that situated at north-eastern extremity of the island; i.e., opposite to its oldest access via Ajim. Until the beginning of the 1950s, these beaches used to be visited for only short periods corresponding to certain ritual visits to marabouts situated on the coast. The islanders were not used to seaside activities. Later, tourism appeared on the island thanks to the pioneering action started by Club Méditerranée. The establishment of the Club dates back to 1954 when its founder, who considered the island as his little Tahiti, constructed a village with huts for the winter. Since then, touristic constructions have quickly succeeded on the beaches. The first hotel, Aljazeera, was constructed in 1961, 10Km away from to the east of Houmet Essoug. Just next to it, Ulysse Palace was constructed in 1964. Through incentive and encouraging measures, the government gave the floor to national then international private sectors. Today, the touristic zone extends over 20Km between Aghir in the south and Houmet Essoug towards the north. Hotels capacity has grown from 8,300 beds in 1975 to 39,000 beds available and exploited in 2002. Djerba is a rich island that presents different aspects of the nature with diverse horizons. The maritime one, which is the basis of tourism and part of ancient activities together with the Houmet Essoug port traffic, is distinguished from the interior horizon; that of tourism supplements. The town of Houmet Essoug, which is situated between the airport and the hotels, is at the same time the ancient and modern centre of the island. It is the most fleshed out and even has administrative functions at the level of the governorate. Midoun has especially sectorial functions related to touristic development. Ajim, however, is maintained as a place of transit with a traditional interface island-continent. It remains dominated by traditional activities relating to fishing. However, since 2006, with the opening of the leisure centre EL Malga, it has seen itself starting a new era with a different touristic orientation in addition to the projection of the new touristic zone on the west coast. Thus, the island’s face has changed a lot since the 1960s with the installation of its hotel zone, the extension of the airport and the localities, and the enlargement of the roads. Only some of the internal parts of the island have remained intact. Actually, the island’s territory is punctuated with touristic, cultural and playing stations and service centres for tourists.
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