- Mayor : Mohamed Ikbel Khaled
- Region : Tunisian Sahel
- Website : www.commune-sousse.gov.tn
Presentation
the city of Sousse is the capital of a major governorate. It is situated on the Mediterranean coast, along a route that links the northern and southern parts of the country. The community is spread out over more than 4,516 hectares. The population of the city itself is 270,000 inhabitants, and that of the conurbation is 450,000. In summer, the population doubles, or even triples, with the arrival of holidaymakers.
The commune of Sousse is the capital of a network of neighbouring towns that form the conurbation of Greater Sousse. It is divided into four arrondissements: Sousse North, Sousse South, Sousse Erriadh and the Medina that has been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988.
Insight into the city
Given its geographical position in the centre of Tunisia, Sousse is equipped with various infrastructures that help it play a role as a driving force for development in the region and across the country.
There are a number of ways of getting to the city of Sousse:
– By air: The city is 15 minutes from Skanès-Monastir international airport and 30 minutes from Enfidha international airport. Both airports have a capacity of nearly 8 million passengers per year.
– By rail: Sousse can be reached via the SNCFT railway network, with several trains running each day to major Tunisian cities (e.g. Tunis, Hammamet, El Jem, Sfax, Gabes, etc.).
– By road: Sousse is easily accessible thanks to great motorway and road networks (Tunis-Sfax A1 motorway, national roads and classified roads).
– By sea: Sousse’s port infrastructures are quite diverse and cater to the commercial, fishing and recreational boating sectors. Sousse harbour is equipped with 10 berths and 5 shops.
The city’s economy is based on three main sectors, namely industry, services and tourism. The commune has two industrial zones located in the city’s south. It has all the usual urban services: shopping centres, two university hospitals and several private clinics, public and private training establishments and financial establishments (e.g. banks, insurance companies, leasing companies, etc.).
In addition to its ability to attract national and international students and investors, the city’s geographical position makes it a tourist hub that attracts an average of 500,000 visitors per year.
Tourism is largely seaside tourism given the substantial quality of the coastline and sea in Sousse, not to mention the ideal climate for this kind of activity. The city has 63 hotel establishments, with a capacity of 25,000 beds. The number of tourist restaurants and recreational establishments is around 75.
The city’s good practices: Integration, Attraction and Creativity
Sousse is an inclusive city both for people that immigrate to the city and for those that are underprivileged and usually excluded from development (the unskilled and disabled), as well as for women and young people.
Sousse is an attractive city for the city’s citizens, visitors (tourists) and transient populations – students and investors. Its attractiveness is economic, social, urban and cultural.
Sousse is a creative city. The field of innovation is reflected in scientific research (University * and Technopole), arts and culture (courses, spaces and festivals), its method of managing local business and land use planning: a participatory approach.
Citizen consultation is the city’s byword, a process that has been strengthened further since the revolution of 14 January 2011.
* The Sousse conurbation has 30,000 students and 19 university institutions covering the majority of subject areas. The University is closely associated with the Technopole.