Tunisia. Tunisia. What comes to mind while trying to compile adequate and reliable info for a Mediterranean country on the North East African coast? How might an individual such as myself go about doing such a task you may wonder? Or like most people perhaps you have given little or no thought to it at all.

Well you might imagine it might be very simple - “Yes, very elementary my dear Watson”; not even old Sherlock Holmes of Scotland Yard would have had an easy time, with his whole theory of deduction, especially in our technological era to where everything is suppose to be as simple as a click of your mouse on your Personal Computer (or perhaps you use a Laptop). An era to where things are so so simple you don’t even have to think anymore. The Internet - a multiple universe within itself, our age of Information. Yes, you might think you could find everything you ever wanted to know at the click of a button - everything is “suppose” to be as simple as Grandma’s homemade Apple Pie, “if its thought about, it’s out there on the Net”. As longs as you don’t really have anything important to say and a very loud voice to say it in. You can perhaps find it.

Well, in one way there is some truth in that statement, and yes Tunisia does and has made its way into cyberspace. But whoever composed event and festival listings [that are available] must be thrown into the category of “ancestors”.

The task at hand that I once imagined as being very simple has turned into just that - a task. The event listings are generally out of date, second hand (being directly copied) from other sites. Not to mention some dates vary from one another. The information that is generally available “to the public” has so much inconsistencies within those actually posts I found myself questioning its authenticity. I had more questions than when I initially started out. I would even try to rewrite what I read and to be honest, it left a bad taste in my mouth, couldn’t help but feel like some plagiaristic prostitute. To search for details, from an outsiders perspective [an individual who has never participated or experienced such events] of what would take place was scant at best. Always seemed to say music (from a tape deck?), dancing (break dancing … seizures?) and cultural food (couscous and dates? Maybe nuts … is that all they eat?). Funny thing is, I’m not even trying to be funny. Especially coming full circle and stumbling upon your own posts!! Surreal.

I’m sure the point is much easier for you to grasp now that we have eliminated all the fine points of detail, meaning and truth. Which brings me to (after researching the events to the death), how might I inquire more info you ask. Simple [again], try to establish contact with said individuals. Plead with them, be nice … bribe them “Hell, we will even advertise the event on the forum!!!” Free publicity!! Any publicity is good. Like in the good old days of the underground music scene here in the West - you just got the word out. Posters, flyers, advertisements - word of mouth. You’d think people would be like “Yeah, what’s up? I’m interested now!!“ People want to know, if not the locals at least those “Who like to fly to Tunisia!!!“ might like to know. Ah, something might come of it you wander. I am afraid to tell you that the answer is a big fat empty no. No one and I mean no one contacts you. Tourist sites just steer you back to where you had initially began in the first place! “Any questions … please feel free to contact us! We are here for you!!”

Tunisia. What is up with the country I ask? Are they not proud and would they not like to promote good information so that those who might consider participating in such events would know exactly what to expect? I have become very disillusioned with festival research. Most events you generally find out during or much after the festival has taken place.

I would like to see, and I am sure I am not the only one, but a very detailed and concise festival page. With every possible detail taken into account from: times, prices, locations and dare I say - actual current (not to mention reliable) contacts information.

Yes, the state of tourism in Tunisia seems a little bleak at the moment, but I am also an optimist and I believe those in the know will one day realise this and try to correct it. Tunisia. Tunisia.

Yes, ever since we started the forum here we were trying to get reliable information to build up a sort of festival calender for Tunisia, since there has not been a single webpage yet with actual information. There are some pages with information that is totally outdated, there are other pages with a handful listings, but that is all. Even he official websites of tunisian tourist information do not supply substantial information.

We have found out that it is almost impossible to collect the information - nobody seems to be interested in such an event calendar. The organizers probably give the information to the press ot tourist offices, the press publishes the information when the event starts and the tourist information just sits on it and does nothing.

As with other aspects of the tourism in Tunisia, nobody really cares to disseminate actual information ahead of time, probably because there is no immediate profit in it. When it is there, it is there and when someone reads it, then someone reads it - a perfect approach to boost the interest in events, a perfect approach to attract non-tunisian (and even tunisian) visitors to the events and a perfect approach in doing business as responsible persons and institutions for tourism...