Tunisia expects a slowing growth in tourism sector, the country's key foreign currency earner, on the back of the financial crisis and economy recession in its main European markets, national TV channel reported on Saturday.

"The current crisis made hard to forecast the performance of the tourism sector next year due to its eventual impacts on the purchasing power of the middle class which represents big share of holidaymakers visiting Tunisia," Kelil Lajimi,Tourism Minister was quoted by the TV channel as saying.

"We hadn't recorded any cancellation till the end of this year but it's possible to note the first repercussions of the world crisis in the first quarter 2009," he said.

But, Tunisia's good reputation of peaceful destination of high quality services would abate these eventual effects if the crisis will persist, he added.

According to the World Economic Forum's Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2007, Tunisia ranks high among African sightseeing destinations in terms of strategic and political priorities devoted to travel and tourism sectors.

The lion share of tourists come from Europe especially from France, Germany and Britain who seek for sun, sea and good services in doorstep.

Tourism income was up 10.5 percent to 2.907 billion dinars (2. 114 billion U.S. dollars)for the January-October period from the same period in the previous year after receiving 6.28 million tourists, according to Lajimi.

Tourism sector represents the country's main employer as it generates some 380,000 direct and indirect jobs, according to government figures.(One U.S.dollar=1.375 dinar)