(Photo: Xinhua)

TUNIS, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- The total number of Chinese tourists who visited Tunisia by Aug. 10 this year increased by 10.1 percent year on year, reaching 18,935, the tourism and handicrafts ministry said on Tuesday.

According to the official statistics, tourist arrivals in Tunisia rose to 5.44 million, with an increase of 12.8 percent compared with the same period last year.

The data showed that the increase is mainly due to a 18.8-percent growth in the number of tourists from Europe.

The ministry added that the number of Maghreb tourists visiting Tunisia in the period rose by 12.4 percent compared with the previous year.

Tunisia expects to receive 9 million tourists in 2019, up from the 8 million last year.