Two Bulgarian visitors stood alone in the ancient El Jem amphitheater, one of Tunisia’s main attractions, save for swallows scurrying under stone arches – a sight that predicted another tourist season devastated by COVID-19.

The 3rd century structure, so emblematic of Tunisia that it is depicted on the 20 dinar note, usually receives around 190,000 visitors a year, but only 45,000 came in 2020, and so far this year it has been the one left most of the time.

The numbers have spiked a bit in the past two weeks after the government eased quarantine rules on package tours to bail out some overseas revenue from the summer peak season, but they’re still nowhere near where they were before the pandemic.

“There are no tourists and the beach is empty. It’s very sad,” said Tatiana Vasileva, one of the two Bulgarians. She had arrived in Tunisia two days earlier and had taken a tour to El Jem arranged by her hotel.

In the square in front of the amphitheater, tourism companies are slowly dying, as they are in the rest of the country, putting life on hold and driving people into other areas of life.

Aroussi Obay, 42, has invested savings in olive oil production to raise money while his antique shop is idle. His neighbor Nofal Zeid, 43, has postponed his wedding due to a lack of income from his El Hana café.

“I’ve postponed all of my projects, including my marriage,” said Zeid, who laid off the few family members he usually employs during the summer season.

But even though days go by without customers, he’s covered each of the seven tables overlooking the amphitheater with a bright red cloth and a bowl of oranges ready for business.

Tunisia, which relies on foreign aid to get COVID-19 vaccines, is struggling with low inventory levels.

Under the COVAX program, 4.3 million doses have been allocated for poorer countries, of which only 670,000 have arrived. It received several other doses through a separate agreement with Pfizer.

As a result, only 800,000 people out of a population of 11.6 million have been vaccinated so far, with little prospect of reducing infection rates enough to lure large numbers of visitors away from competing European destinations.

Tourism Minister Habib Ammar wants to vaccinate workers in the sector quickly to reassure visitors. “Unfortunately there is a problem with vaccine stocks that made this strategy impossible to implement,” he said.

DESERT BEACHES

Most tourists come to Tunisia for its long white beaches, but it also features ruined Roman cities, cork forests, medieval mosques, Star Wars movie sets and Sahara oases.

Tourism usually makes up about a tenth of the economy. Its collapse after militants attacked a beach and museum in 2015 caused an economic crisis, but the sector had recovered before the COVID-19 hit.

Obay’s shop in El Jem is a treasure trove of copper trays, African masks, rustic chests, replicas of Roman figures, Berber carpets and beautifully painted shutters.

“Before the pandemic, I sold several items a day. Now days go by without sales,” he said.

A camel is kneeling outside, ready to ride tourists on its striped, padded cushions, but none comes.

“I eat my savings,” said its owner, Fathi Bouzayan, 53, whose family has offered camel rides in El Jem for generations.

The largest beach town nearby is Sousse, where the Mövenpick Resort & Marine Spa employs only about half of its usual 550 people, said sales and marketing director Zied Maghrebi.

Miles of resorts stand almost empty along the bright turquoise-colored coastal waters, and in the Mövenpick pool a single child is spinning in the water, engrossed in a private game.

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