| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 28/08/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 57 |
| Copyright: Other |
Top range
Wigmore eyes Djerba for upmarket bookings
WIGMORE Holidays is looking to increase bookings to Djerba to capitalise on its position as the only UK operator to offer a year-round programme to the island.The operator has added an extra hotel on the island off the east coast of Tunisia, including the tiny 10-bed Dar Dhiafa developed by knocking four houses together, which it hopes will help to attract new markets. Managing director Tijani Guetat said: “It is ideal for couples and especially for honeymooners. It’s the kind of place where you don’t want intrusion from things like televisions.”
Djerba – also spelt Jerba – is about one hour by air from Tunis. It measures just 18 miles by 16 miles, is flat and dry and attracts only top-of-the-market holidaymakers. As a result, none of the big operators feature it and although it is in Panorama Holidays’ winter programme, prices are available from the middle of February to the end of April only.
“It is upmarket and too expensive for the mass market,” said Guetat.
Wigmore offers one week at the five-star Royal Garden Palace from £585 half-board, while the Dar Dhiafa costs from £485 for four-nights’ bed and breakfast. Prices include flights to Tunis, where clients change to a domestic service.
Tunisian National Tourist Office UK director Houssem Ben Azouz agreed. “Djerba is too expensive for most British holidaymakers in the summer, when it is very popular among the Germans, French and Italians.
“The prices are more reasonable in winter, when it is warmer than the rest of Tunisia.”
The island’s capital is Houmt Souk, a busy town with alleyways and squares to explore and colourful markets where Djerban pottery is a speciality.
Away from the centre, the main activity is doing nothing, although there is a 27-hole golf course and a two-hour drive brings you to the Sahara Desert – the island is linked to the mainland by a causeway.
“The landscape is very different to Port el Kantaoui or Hammamet as it is not commercialised at all,” said Guetat. “There is the capital, the beaches, the potteries and the palm trees. Four nights is not enough. You need a week or more for a really relaxing holiday away from it all.”s