Tunisia confiscates Hilton owned by family of ex-president

(MENAFN) Tunisia seized a Hilton hotel in Gammarth owned by the ousted president Zine el Abidine Ben Ali's brother in law, Belhassen Trabelsi, reported The National.

Tunisia's government is attempting to extradite Trabelsi from Canada on charges that he abused his political connections to get rich.

Trabelsi was the owner of Kathargo Group which Hilton Worldwide entrusted with managing the hotel in September 2010. The 283-room hotel, formerly Le Palace Hotel, was planned to open as Hilton Tunis Carthage at the end of January 2012.

Christian Grage, vice president of operations for Hilton Worldwide, Egypt and Levant, said that Hilton plans to honor its agreement with Kathargo Group. Hilton Worldwide is trying to come to an agreement on the future of the hotel with Tunisia's tourism department, the Banque de Tunisie, and the manager of the owning company.

Tunisia's tourism sector, which makes up about 7 percent of the country's GDP, is under pressure after this year's popular revolt decreased tourism revenue by 43 percent compared to last year, the UN World Tourism Organization said. The UN organization announced this week that it planned to aid Tunisia's efforts to bring back tourists.

Tunisia's tourism sector is also endangered by heavy financing of hotels at high interest rates by the country's banks. The banks are the country's biggest hotel owner, Chiheb ben Mahmoud, senior vice president at Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, Middle East and Africa, said.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/menafn/MeTopEN/~3/rNfjDFmZlkI/qn_news_story_s.asp

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