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Tourist airport meeting and transfer
Before booking a tour you shall study the visa requirements and check the validity of your passports in order to ensure that they comply with the migrations laws of the country that you are going to visit.
According to the order of the Tunisian authorities, from December 31, 2024, travelers will be required to present a passport when crossing the national border. This means that the exception for citizens of certain European Union countries, which allowed entry to Tunisia with a national ID card, has been canceled as of December 31, 2024.
To be able to enter Tunisia, the validity of a foreign citizen’s passport shall be at least 3 months from the last day of the tour. If the validity of the foreign citizen’s passport does not meet the above-mentioned requirement, the entry into Tunisia may be denied. In case the airline company’s staff identifies the non-compliance of the passport validity to the destination country’s requirements, the passenger can be prohibited from the flight with no refund of the flight ticket price.
As of the date of preparation of this Guide (February 12, 2025), the following border crossing rules apply for Tunisia:
Entry rules can be modified without prior notice. Current visa requirements which apply for the duration of the planned tourist trip shall be checked additionally in the place of purchasing the tour, on the official information sources of the destination country, or in the embassy or consulate of the destination country.
It is recommended to additionally check the requirements for passengers’ identity documents on the air carrier’s website, since it is the airline company that performs the initial verification of the tourists’ identity documents and decides on whether to admit them to the flight. Some airlines require producing additional documents which are not included in the visa requirements of the destination country. In case of any doubts with regard to the list of the required documents, it is recommended to make an additional request to the airline company in advance.
When entering Tunisia, amounts equivalent to 20,000 Tunisian dinars or more are subject to mandatory declaration (the exchange rate for the specific date should be checked on the Central Bank of Tunisia’s website at: https://www.bct.gov.tn/bct/siteprod/index.jsp). Currency declaration is subject to an excise duty of 10 dinars, regardless of the declared amount. The currency declaration is valid for three months from the date of the non-resident traveler’s entry into Tunisia and can only be used during one trip. The currency declaration is personal and cannot be transferred to other tourists.
The currency declaration upon entry into Tunisia helps tourists avoid problems during customs control upon departure. If foreign travelers are carrying a large sum of cash, customs officers may require proof that this amount was brought into the country previously and was not obtained illegally in Tunisia. If, during the cash count, it is found that the sum exceeds 5,000 Tunisian dinars (approximately 1,500 euros), and the traveler does not have a personal declaration for the required amount made upon entry into Tunisia, the excess cash will be confiscated.
Tourist airport meeting and transfer
Tunisian laws prohibit the import of quad-copters and portable radio sets into the territory of the country.
In case the equipment that is prohibited from being imported is discovered during the customs control, it will be confiscated. While confiscating the equipment, the customs service officers draw up the corresponding report and give its copy to the tourist. The tourist shall keep the copy of the report until the end of the trip. On the basis of this report the tourist can retrieve the equipment during the customs control before taking a flight from Tunisia.
The return of the confiscated equipment is performed only in the airport where the confiscation took place, and only to the tourist in whose name the report was drawn up. The return of the confiscated equipment to third parties or its return for the purpose of taking a flight from another airport is not allowed.
If a tourist manages to import the prohibited equipment illegally or to purchase it in Tunisia, and if the fact of using such equipment is revealed, the equipment will be permanently confiscated, and an administrative or criminal case will be launched against the tourist. The use of the prohibited equipment can be treated by the public authorities as an attempt to breach the public and national security of the Republic of Tunisia. Neither the tour operator nor the DMC can influence the prompt and successful resolution of such situations since this is the issue of the tourist’s personal responsibility for the compliance with the Tunisian laws. Law enforcement authorities hold no negotiations with third parties except for Tunisian lawyers hired by the travellers for representing their interests and other official representatives of the embassy or consulate of the tourists’ country of citizenship.
Tourist airport meeting and transfer
In order to carry out a group transfer, representatives of the Destination Management Company (DMC) shall meet the tourists at the exit from the arrival area in a booth with the DMC and the tour operator’s logos.
The tourists who have booked an individual transfer shall be met at the exit from the arrival area by a driver. In case of booking an “individual escorted transfer” the tourists shall be met by a company’s representative.
The tourists are required to show to the travel guide their hotel accommodation vouchers. After the voucher control and the tourist’s identification in the group transfer passenger list, the bus number shall be communicated to the tourist. When boarding the bus, the tourist shall be given his or her hotel voucher and an information leaflet.
All tourists are recommended to remain near the bus and wait until other passengers who travel on the same bus undergo passport and customs control and claim their luggage.
In case of carrying out a group transfer, the transportation takes place following the “airport-hotel” route with intermediate stops at the hotels where the transfer members are going to stay. The route of a transfer bus shall be defined by the DMC depending on the hotels’ location with regard to the airport. The duration of a group transfer depends on a number of factors including the traffic conditions and the efficiency of the tourists’ leaving the airport building.
The DMC’s representatives shall wait for all the transfer group members. In case of a considerable delay of the tourists’ exit due to passport control problems, carrying of prohibited goods or luggage loss, it is recommended to notify the DMC calling the following hotline phone number: +216 25 99 44 77 (Viber, WhatsApp, Telegram). A full transfer group shall wait for the delaying passengers for no more than 30 minutes; if the tourists do not appear during the afore-mentioned period of time, the bus shall leave the airport. In such cases the transfer or taxi cost is not subject to compensation, and the price of the unused transfer service will not be refunded.
We kindly draw the tourists’ attention to the fact that they are required to treat other transfer members respectfully and follow the generally accepted rules of conduct while a group transfer is carried out. In case a tourist appears for the group transfer in a state of alcoholic intoxication, the DMC may refuse the transportation without compensating the transfer and/or taxi cost for the corresponding route.
Upon the arrival of tourists, they are provided with an informational brochure containing the name and phone number of the hotel guide. The meeting with the guide takes place at the hotel on the day of arrival or the following day. In exceptional cases, for guests staying at hotels located far from the main resort areas (e.g., Mahdia on the mainland or Zarzis on the island of Djerba), the main information about the country and available excursions may be provided at the airport upon arrival, with remote guidance from the hotel guide. Hotel guides answer promptly to all the tourists’ questions and provide assistance in solving issues, if any.
Hotel guides’ phone numbers and the DMC’s hotline phone number can be found in publicly available sources of information but such communication channels serve exclusively for interacting with tourists. Hotel guides have no authority to hold any negotiations with third parties, including the representatives of travel agencies or tour operators, tourists’ family members, etc. The hotline phone number serves for establishing a direct contact with tourists and promptly solving their problems. Third parties who are not tourists are advised not to contact this phone number. All requests from travel agencies and tour operators shall be sent exclusively via official communication channels, i.e. email.
The arrival time for the transfer to the hotel for transportation on the «hotel – airport» route should be confirmed in the folder with the logos of the tour operator and the DMC, located in the hotel lobby, or with the hotel guide by phone, one day before the scheduled departure. In case the tourists experience problems with finding such information or have any questions, they shall contact the hotel guide.
The transfer bus route during the return transfer shall be determined by the DMC as well and depends on the hotels’ location with regard to the airport. We kindly ask tourists to treat other transfer members respectfully and show up for the transfer in time. In case the tourists are not present at the hotel reception desk, the DMC staff shall take measures for finding them. However, it is not allowed to wait for the tourists for more than 15 minutes since this can lead to the bus’s late arrival at subsequent hotels and a delay in reaching the airport for the flight check-in. In the case of no-show of tourists, the representative of the DMC who conducts the transfer, fills out a special form, signed by a hotel employee, confirming the arrival of the vehicle and the waiting for guests.
We strongly recommend that tourists inform the local representatives if they do not intend to use the booked group transfer on the «airport-hotel» and/or «hotel-airport» route. Advance notification helps prevent transfer delays caused by searching for tourists at the hotel and the related inconvenience for other passengers.
In case the tourists have shown up at the meeting point in due time but have found no bus, they shall contact the hotel guide immediately or call the DMC’s hotline phone number.
Upon disembarking the bus at the end of the transfer, tourists should ensure that no personal belongings are left in the vehicle. In case of a request from tourists regarding personal items forgotten or lost during the transfer, the DMC will assist in their search but will not be held responsible if they are not found.
Tourist airport meeting and transfer
In case of not finding their suitcase on the luggage claim belt, the tourists shall contact the “Lost & Found” staff where they will be asked to fill in a luggage lost report called the Property Irregularity Report (PIR). The document shall be filled in by the passengers or the airport staff in capital letters in the English language. The tourists shall take a copy of the report and keep it until the luggage return (or for filing a claim to the airline company in case the luggage is not found).
In Tunisia, depending on the city of arrival or on the airline company, there is no delivery of the retrieved luggage to the passenger’s place of accommodation. When the missing luggage is found, the tourist is contacted by the airport or the airline company’s staff and informed on the necessity to arrive at the airport to claim the luggage. Third parties, including the DMC’s staff, have no authority to claim the retrieved luggage instead of the tourists. The passenger in whose name the luggage is registered shall arrive at the airport in person. The tourists can go the airport on their own accord or contact the hotel guide with a request to help them arrange a transfer to the airport and back. The expenses related to such a transfer shall be borne by the tourists.
In case the luggage is found after the trip is over or is declared missing, the tourists are advised to remain in contact with the airline company’s representatives for the purpose of delivering the retrieved luggage or receiving a compensation for the lost luggage.
Example of a Property Irregularity Report (PIR) form:
