TUNIS, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- About 9,030,000 tourists visited Tunisia from Jan. 1 to Dec. 10, an increase of 14.1 percent compared to the same period in 2018, said the Tunisian tourism minister on Friday.

"The number will reach 9,550,000 by the end of this year," Rene Trabelsi told a press conference.

Tourism revenues exceeded 1.88 billion U.S. dollars in the same period, with a year-on-year increase of 36.6 percent, he added.

The number of nights spent in Tunisian hotels reached 28.8 million, an increase of 11.3 percent year on year, the minister noted.

The increase in the number of tourists is mainly due to the improvement of the security situation in Tunisia and efforts by the tourism ministry in coordination with all stakeholders in the sector, including professionals, media and representatives of civil society, according to the minister.