Lebanon: Tourism on the Mend
Lebanon is one of those countries blessed with most of what it takes to attract visitors year round: sun, sand, stunning scenery, snow and a burgeoning hospitality industry catering to the whims of holiday-makers.
However, it has also had what most countries seeking a thriving tourism industry don't want: bad headlines. While the tourism sector experienced slow and steady growth after the end of the 1975-90 civil war, it took another hit last year after a resurgence of violence, with the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in February 2005 making news headlines around the world.

That act, and a spate of other high profile attacks, saw foreign visitor arrivals fall by an estimated 11% in 2005, dropping to just over 1m.

A year after the Hariri assassination there is new optimism in the Lebanese tourism sector, with investments being made and visitor numbers expected to break records.

In an interview with Reuters in mid-May, Lebanese Tourism Minister Joseph Sarkis estimated that 1.6m tourists would visit Lebanon this year, bringing in some $2bn of much needed foreign currency. However, he added a note of caution by saying that the positive projections were dependent on the continuity of stability and the absence of further violent incidents.

The unstable security situation had a negative effect on tourism last year, although it was not that dramatic, Sarkis told Reuters. But with the halt in security incidents the situation has been improving and we have very encouraging signs this year.

Another to share the sense of optimism for the sector is head of the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia department, Mohsin Khan. In May, the Fund released its latest country report on Lebanon, with many of the dire warnings about the need to reduce debt levels and implement economic reforms repeated as they have been in previous studies.

However, while the IMF report noted that tourism had suffered in 2005, Khan said things looked better for this year.

They are expecting the best year in the history of tourism, he said in an interview with the Agence France Presse (AFP) on June 9.

Some of that optimism is justified by the figures, with 350,000 overseas tourists visiting Lebanon in the first four months of the year, a 30% increase on the same period in 2005.

While many of the attractions that made Lebanon a favorite with European tourists before the civil war still remain, the demographics of overseas visitors has changed. Up to 45% of overseas arrivals are from Arab countries, especially those from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) zone, with the shift in part seen as a response to stricter visa requirements for Arab tourists imposed in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks in the U.S.

This shift has also been reflected in foreign investment in the Lebanese tourism sector, with firms from a number of GCC countries buying into the industry. The latest of these was the Bahrain-based International Investment Bank (IIB), which on June 13 announced a $25m mixed-use real estate development in downtown Beirut, the 29-storey Grand Tower.

According to Aabed al-Zeera, IIB's chief executive officer, the move is a reflection of the economic potential of Lebanon.

Lebanon is rapidly re-establishing itself as a leading tourism and business hub in the Middle East region, and we are confident that this is the right time to invest in its further growth, al-Zeera said.

Another major project with Arab involvement is the rebuilding of the Grand Hyatt Beirut, being financed by a joint Saudi Arabian-Lebanese holding company. Destroyed in the civil war, the hotel is scheduled to reopen its doors in late 2008.

One who touts the benefits to be had from investing in Lebanon's tourism industry is Nabil Itani, the chairman and general manager of the Investment Development Authority of Lebanon (IDAL), the national development authority charged with facilitating major construction projects and other investments in Lebanon.

The current regional economic boom, driven by factors such as high oil prices and a strong real estate sector, is resulting in investor-friendly conditions that form a critical phase for furthering Lebanon's economic prosperity Itani told reporters on June 12 during a media tour of projects supported by IDAL. We must take full advantage of current economic progression by making greater efforts to attract Arab investment to all sectors of the Lebanese economy by showcasing the prosperity and stability of the country and highlighting the competitive nature of sectors such as tourism.

Oxford Business Group

source: http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/NewsDesk.nsf/0/A7C2C9653C871175C2257192002CB3BC?OpenDocument

The UNWTO is confident that Lebanon will be able to reconstruct its tourism sector and continue being an attractive international travel destination.

“UNWTO and its members stand behind Lebanon,” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Francesco Frangialli. “Our sector is only a part of the losses suffered in Lebanon, but tourism is of great importance for the economic recovery and development of the whole country.”

The Organization held a joint press conference with the Ministers of Tourism for Lebanon and Jordan, as a first example of UNWTO's support and vote of confidence in Lebanon's positive tourism future.

Minister of Tourism of Lebanon Joseph Sarkis said “there are already signs that regional business is picking up and we are very confident in the medium term outlook.”

Lebanon is known as a unique tourism destination. The Special Programme for the Reconstruction of Lebanon's Tourism Economy, being developed by the UNWTO, will focus on the assessment and economic impact analysis of the recent conflict, restoring market confidence, and formulating a strategic plan for sustainable redevelopment of tourism.

According to UNWTO figures, the recovery in Lebanon during the first quarter of 2006 (+49% in tourist arrivals over an 11% decline in 2005) was totally halted from July on and international tourist arrivals from July to September declined by over 58%. Total arrivals in the first nine months of the year are down by nearly 9%. Having expected 1.6 million tourists in 2006, the new estimations indicate that the year will end down on 2005 figures.

Conflicts and tensions have slowed down growth before but do not produce significant decreases in overall volumes of flows. “We have repeatedly seen months with substantial drops in arrivals that were followed by flows bouncing back quickly and strongly once stability re-emerged,” Francesco Frangialli noted.

Significantly no hotel facilities were damaged and the rebuilding of general infrastructure is now underway. The challenge now, besides reconstruction, is stability in the destination and rebuilding confidence in source markets, particular those of Europe.

Resilience and recovery

The realistic focus for a clear tourism recovery is the 2007 summer season “but even now we are seeing traditional Lebanese fortitude and resilience” Mr Frangialli said.

The region in general and Lebanon in particular, has a proud history of resilience to external shocks and an enormous capacity for recovery from crisis situations as proven by its excellent performance in recent years.

The Middle East has been the fastest growing region in the world in terms of international tourism in recent years. International tourist arrivals grew at an average rate of 10% annually over the last fifteen years, more than double the world average of 4%.

From a base of 9.6 million in 1990, arrivals to the Middle East peaked at 39 million in 2005 (4.8% of the world total). International tourism receipts grew from US$ 5 billion in 1990 to nearly US$ 28 billion in 2005, equivalent to over 3% of the region's GDP.

Tourism has thus become a vital sector in the socio-economic structure of the Middle East, contributing to the diversification of oil-based economies and to the creation of employment.

Downtown Beirut moves to salvage holiday season


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Promotional campaign aims to bring customers back by promising deep discounts


Friday, December 15, 2006
By Lysandra Ohrstrom
Daily Star staff


BEIRUT: As the anti-government demonstrations in Downtown Beirut enter their third week on Friday, embattled businesses from the hospitality, trade, and tourism sectors are striking back with a campaign aimed at boosting consumer spending and luring shoppers back to the commercial centers of the capital.

Some of Lebanon's leading luxury retailers convened at the Phoenicia InterContinental Hotel on Thursday morning for the launch of the seasonal print, billboard, and television advertising blitz-"Bhebak bil Chiteh" (I love you in Winter) - conceived by H&C Leo Burnett.

Some stores, especially those in the Beirut Central District (BCD), are also offering discounts at locations in neighborhoods particularly hard-hit by the demonstrations in the hopes that shoppers might loosen their purse strings in honor of Christmas, the New Year, and Eid al-Adha.

Aishti chairman and CEO Tony Salame, Middle East Airlines (MEA) president Mohammad Hout, Lebanese Hotel Syndicate president Pierre Ashkar, and ABC director Robert Fadel each spoke at the event - and each pleaded for a political truce so that the economy could recover.

Merchants will request VAT exemptions from the government, Salame said in his speech, in an attempt to give consumers a stronger reason to spend. Hotels and MEA will be offering package deals to woo foreign visitors back to Lebanon to celebrate the holidays, and the Ministry of Tourism has agreed to exempt foreigners from temporary visa fees.

According to a statement released after the press conference, a delegation of businesspeople will soon meet with President Emile Lahoud, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, Speaker Nabih Berri, Finance Minister Jihad Azour and Central Bank Governor Riyadh Salameh to ask that they "live up to their historic responsibilities."
"The business operators will also ask all political parties and forces in Lebanon to prevent any negative repercussions on commercial establishments due to their actions and to actually support economic activities in Lebanon," the statement added. "The commercial establishments also plan to give special offers and major economic incentives to Lebanese customers and foreign visitors throughout the duration of the campaign."

The details of the particular incentives will be released later by individual retailers.
Indeed, many BCD merchants give every appearance of not being able to sustain poor business for much longer. The owner and manager of the Lina's sandwich franchise, Sammi Hochon, said he will give the situation three or four months to recover before he shuts the Downtown branch.

"None of my locations are doing as well as they should because people just are not spending much right now," Hochon told The Daily Star on the sidelines of the press conference. "But business in Solidere has dropped 80 percent from this time last year. Lunch is just starting to pick, but for the rest of the day we are empty."
In 2003 and 2004 consumer traffic was consistent enough to offset the high rents in Solidere, but things have not picked up since their decline two years ago, Hochon explained.

Virgin chairman Jihad Murr told Agence France Presse last week that if the situation persists he may have to close his flagship location in Martyrs Square, which reopened last Monday after more than a week of remaining shut due to the opposition demonstrations. Murr said he has laid off 20 percent of the total staff since the July-August war with Israel, and estimated that each day of closure costs the company $50,000 in losses.

Red streamers now hang from the windows of the former movie theater, presumably in place to offset the coils of barbed wire blocking off access to the site of slain former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's gravesite. Though protesters are still forbidden from erecting tents in the designated demonstration zone of the capital, consumers are welcome to bypass army checkpoints to do some Christmas shopping.
Virgin circulated a mass email this week to this effect.

"In an effort to revive our beloved Virgin and all other stores and restaurants at Downtown striving to overcome this dire situation that threatens the very stability of our country's economy, we invite all of you to visit Downtown on the 14th of December starting 5:00 pm and participate in restoring life to the heart of Beirut," the email read.

City Mall in Dora hired advertising firm BBDO Impact for an outdoor campaign of its own to promote the mall during the holiday season. Mall manager Rony Aoun insists that the Christmas-themed billboards - depicting a scantily clad, elfish women spraying perfume into an already blazing fireplace, and emblazoned with the slogan, "X-Mas Folly," presumably an ironic take on the current conflagration gripping the country - are part of a purely commercial campaign.

"There is nothing political about it," Aoun said of the image in question, which also carries the words, "dreaming of a warm Christmas." "The fireplace gives the feeling of warmth," he said. "We tried to recreate the mood last year by decorating, putting up children's animation, and offering some holiday activities."


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Copyright (c) 2006 The Daily Star

good to hear .. but im not very optimistic :( i hope they prove me wrong

BEIRUT: In an attempt to revitalize Downtown Beirut socially and economically, the capital's municipality is inviting Lebanese to flock top the city center tonight in a campaign called "The Kiss of Life." "[Downtown] is turning out to be a morbid story," said Rola Ajouz-Sidani, a Municipality member. "So what the municipality of Beirut decided to do is to call on everybody, all sects, that if you love Beirut, let's translate this love into action. Let's show the world that Beirut is not dead and tell the workers that we're in solidarity with them and that their jobs are secure."

Since opposition protesters thronged Downtown Beirut on Dec. 1, businesses have been struggling to stay open. Employees increasingly face the prospect of lay-offs.

"Out of 100 restaurants, six have taken a final decision to close. About 20 to 25 have not reopened but have not laid off their workers. The ones that reopen just close in the day, not the night," said Paul Aryss, president of the Restaurant Owners Association.

Many shops and restaurants are open irregularly if at all, as consumers worry that the protests may escalate.

"La Posta was closed from Dec. 1-17," said one La Posta employee who was not authorized to speak and wished to remain anonymous. "Afterward, we opened, but just for lunch. We opened at night again on Dec. 21, to give Maarad Street ambience, but we received about five or six customers all night."

Though he didn't know much about the "Kiss of Life" campaign, he noted that La Posta was fully booked last night and tonight.

"We're trying our best to stay open," he said.

Other restaurants, like Casper and Gambini's, aren't so lucky. The Downtown branch has merged its operations with the branch in City Mall, to service all of Beirut and Metn.

"We've been closed since, the first day of protests," said the restaurant's director, George Helou. "Employees are not receiving their full month's pay as we're splitting shifts between [Downtown employees] and those at other branches."
http://www.dailystar.com.lb

With the holiday season, business is improving and employees are not as affected as they were in early December.

"We are very worried about the post-holiday season as we're wondering what will happen when all the Lebanese from abroad leave in January," said Helou.

"We're worrying from a business level and for our employees' [livelihoods]."

Casper and Gambini's - like most businesses downtown - is suffering especially heavy losses because of high costs.

"We're losing thousands of dollars a day due to rent," Helou said.

Some restaurants will decide mid-January whether to shut down their businesses.

"If the situation continues there will be many [restaurant] closures," said Aryss.

The municipality hopes to assemble more than 2,000 people Downtown at 8:30 p.m. to dine, shop and walk around for the evening.

"Let each participate according to their abilities. If you can't buy dinner, just fill the streets by walking Downtown," Ajouz-Sidani said. "On the contrary, poverty is not a drawback. I'm proud to walk with those people to show Beirut includes everyone and is still a vibrant city."

Last week, the Lebanese Women's Council urged hundreds of members to lunch Downtown, to stimulate the district's economy.

Downtown businesses hope "The Kiss of Life" and campaigns like it will rekindle the area, demonstrating that despite the situation, the country will plow forward.

"We hope the party will be a trigger to encourage people to go Downtown at night," Aryss said.

Lebanon's Tourist Associations have pleaded with Opposition leader Gen. Michel Aoun to find a new site for the round-the-clock Hizbullah-led protest that has crippled downtown Beirut since Dec. 1 in a bid to topple the government.
"The sit-in has and still is inflicting a lot of damage on Beirut and elsewhere on Lebanon," said Pierre Ashqar, head of the hotel owners following a meeting with Aoun in Rabieh on Friday.

He called on Aoun, whose Free Patriotic Movement is part of the Opposition, to move the sit-in "which has damaged tourism" to a new location.

Ashqar said Aoun was positive and promised to look into the possibilities of setting up a committee that would deal with relocating the protest spot.

Downtown Beirut is filled with top international fashion shops and vast array of cafés, bars, pubs, restaurants, clubs as well as posh hotels

Broumana, Lebanon: A political crisis in Lebanon has dealt a blow to its tourism industry, compounding the woes of a sector which lost its 2006 peak summer season to war between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas, the tourism minister said.

The sector accounted for nine per cent of Lebanon's national income in 2005, Joseph Sarkis said, and would have climbed to 12 per cent in 2006 if not for the July-August war.

Lebanon's reputation abroad, which had slowly recovered since the civil war, had again been undermined by conflict.

"We have not been able to benefit from this important sector, which should be Lebanon's oil," he said

Political standoff

Sarkis said that since the war the political standoff, which has at times sparked lethal street clashes, had caused a 39 per cent fall of visitors to Lebanon in January and hotel occupancy rates were currently well below the seasonal average.

"We have a wonderful country but we are committing suicide," Sarkis said at his home in the village of Broumana in the mountains overlooking Beirut.

Much of central Beirut has been blocked off since December by an open-ended anti-government pro-test. Rebuilt from the ruins of the 1975-1990 civil war, central Beirut's shopping district and cafes have been a draw for Arab summer holiday makers.

Sarkis said bookings for this year were so far "not at all encouraging", but added that tourists from Arab countries and expatriot Lebanese would quickly plan trips to Lebanon if the political standoff was resolved.

1m visitors this year

Sarkis said that despite current instability, he expected at least 1 million visitors in 2007 - around the level of 2006 when Lebanon had been on track for a record tourism year before war erupted.

"If it hadn't been for the war and events in Lebanon, we would have finished 2006 with 1.7 or 1.8 million tourists - a growth rate of 10 or 15 per cent a year," he said.

Reuters

BEIRUT: Lebanese restaurant owners and the Tourism Ministry launched a new Web site on Wednesday aimed at wooing tourists to visit restaurants here and to revive the moribund tourism industry in general. The sector has suffered more than most since the summer 2006 war with Israel and the ensuing political skirmishes, and the site is the latest in a series of attempts to resuscitate tourism, including ad campaigns and pleas for public assistance. The site - www.restovisa.com - sells $25 tickets to restaurants throughout the country, with a minimum purchase of four vouchers. The ticket price is subtracted from the bill when the tourist visits the chosen eatery, and the tickets go into quarterly raffles for plane tickets, hotel accommodation, car rentals and summer camps for children.

The restovisa.com project aims to provide a quick cash injection so restaurants can meet costs (most important among them employee wages), end layoffs and stem the flood of Lebanese hospitality talent emigrating to the Gulf. Many university students have taken to working shifts in restaurants and cafes as a way to pay tuition costs, so lost jobs in the sector could also translate into more college dropouts.

"There's a domino effect," Michel Ghosn, project manager for restovisa.com, told The Daily Star on Wednesday. "The big danger is that if those guys lose their jobs, they won't be able to pay their university. It's very, very important to try to keep jobs in Lebanon - this is the main idea."

The site's target audiences are Lebanese living abroad, as well as Arabs and other fans of the nation, for whom Lebanese cuisine is as much of an attraction as any other tourist destination here, said Nada Sardouk, director general of the Tourism Ministry. The site also features pages catering to various tourist needs, such as travel agencies, car-rental agencies, nightclubs and ecotourism.

The country's tourist destinations have been largely abandoned since last year's war, prompting the launch of restovisa.com and similar projects. Industry leaders have appealed to the government for aid, and Tourism Minister Joe Sarkis and Finance Minister Jihad Azour promised on March 7 to use funds pledged at January's Paris III donor conference to pay the interest on a series of emergency long-term loans to tourist enterprises.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb

The tourism sector, however, was never mentioned by Prime Minister Fouad Siniora in his press conference on Wednesday updating the use of Paris III funding, and industry representatives have heard nothing from the Tourism Ministry since the subsidy promise.

"Let's hope that there will be another conference where he will announce that something will be given to the tourism industry," said Paul Ariss, president of the Syndicate of Restaurant and Cafe owners.

The Cabinet also vowed to forgive property taxes and municipal fees for 2006 and 2007 for businesses in the Beirut Central District (BCD), which have been almost entirely abandoned since the opposition began its protests December 1. More than half of the companies in the BCD have shut their doors since December.

BCD entrepreneurs, largely dependent on tourism, have also actively pursued their survival - they are preparing to sue the state for compensation and have commenced a marketing campaign to lure tourists. The campaign placed ads in newspapers throughout the Gulf in the last 10 days, and a television commercial will be filmed within the next week, said Tony Salameh, CEO of Aishti and leader of the BCD businesses. The spot should run not only on Lebanese satellite stations such as LBCI and Future, but also on the various MBC networks.

"It's not the best-ever ad, but it will remind people" about Lebanon, Salameh said.

Tourism accounts for roughly 10 percent of Lebanon's $22-billion GDP, and the industry employs upward of 150,000 people. Slightly more than 1 million tourists visited Lebanon last year, and Sarkis has projected a similar figure for 2007. As an example of the industry's hardships, Lebanon's 350 hotels piled up $280 million in losses in the second half of last year.

http://www.restovisa.com/

its a great website, but there is a mistake the objective part try spot it

I like the site too :)
A very clever and nice step :)

It has useful info.. I like this La Reserve:

http://www.restovisa.com/la-reserve.aspx

its a great website, but there is a mistake the objective part try spot it

''No governmental indemnities are foreseeable.'' lol not a big deal
Great website nonetheless

One of the problems is that there is a minimum for purchases and that is 4 which might discourage some people who would want less. When something is done to help promote and help there should be no minimums. It is as if you are asking some one for a loan and telling them i wont take anything less than this. In arabic there is a saying (Shahad ow msharat)

^^ U R RIGHT.But still,it's better than nothing.

yes but you guys are not looking at it business wise. If they dont put a minimum then they wont do much, lets say you order only one plate, its like what half price already?? how much will the owner get out of it a 1$?? If they put a minimum of 4, then they force the customers to buy more so they can make more money and pay off their debt, other wise they will be working like dogs getting at the end of the day hardly anything

''No governmental indemnities are foreseeable.'' lol not a big deal
Great website nonetheless


i noticed a differnt mistake .... its about rafic Hariri ....

^^ What mistake?????

^^ yea i've read the thing twice looking for the mistake ... wats the mistake Jayme??? there better b a mistake otherwise :bash: :bash: :bash:

:D lol
maybe jaime thinks the Mistake is in the word Rafic :D it's written Rafic in french ya Jayme :) and not rafik :)

^^ i think he met that it said President instead of Prime Minister

^^ yessssss

^^ lol well i dunno about u but I considered him more of our president and one who represented Lebanon well; rather then the sun rat orange tanned faced tomato Lahoud we have.

^^ :lol: Couldn't say it better :D

Lebanon needs tourists, not terrorists!

Wednesday, 20 June, 2007 @ 6:59 PM



Beirut - Breakfast at an up-market hotel in the Lebanese capital begins at 6:30 am. Nearly three quarters of an hour later, the tables are still set and pristine, the buffet untouched.

"There is no one," the restaurant manager said, shaking his head.
Wars, assassinations, protests and fighting are bad news for Lebanon tourism. Instead of tourists Lebanon has been getting terrorists via Syria, like Fatah al-Islam militants.
Beirut should be buzzing this time of the year, if only with expatriates returning to holiday in their homeland. But traffic flows freely in the city's normally clogged streets, and foreign pedestrians are few and far between.

Anyone on foot is fair game for the many empty taxis that cruise the streets, touting for business by double tooting their horns.

Starbucks in the city's central business district must be the global coffee chain's sole outlet in which the staff sometimes sit at outdoor tables waiting for customers.

The expensive high-rise area of Beirut, rebuilt after it was devastated during the 1975-1990 civil war, should be thronged with well-heeled Gulf Arabs dispensing their dollars. It is not.

Flights into Rafik Hariri International Airport are landing more than half empty at the start of what should be the country's lucrative tourism season. But for the second year running visitors are choosing to go elsewhere.

Swimwear can now be bought for up to 70 percent discount from some stores at a time when prices should be premium.
"We are in free-fall," tourism ministry director general Nada Sardouk said. "The assassinations, the bombings, the fighting in Nahr al-Bared and the continued political crisis have badly affected tourism.

"In May 2006, the number of arrivals to Lebanon was 109,441 while in May 2007 it was only 72,676. So we are down 33 percent," she said, adding that the summer season "will most probably be very difficult."

After nightfall the army mounts snap vehicle checkpoints, in addition to those that are semi-permanent, in a high-profile display of security that causes the capital's only traffic tailbacks.

The continuing siege of Fatah al-Islam militants at the northern Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared and a series of deadly bombings in and around Beirut since the standoff began on May 20 have created a pervasive sense of unease.

"Tourism is vital to Lebanon, and without it the economy simply atrophies," said Beirut-based Middle East analyst Ed Blanche.

Many Lebanese fear for the future.

When parliamentarian Walid Eido was killed on June 13 by a car bombing in Beirut's Manara seafront, members of the anti-Syrian majority blamed Damascus, an accusation Syria denied.
Now the government has set August 5 for by-elections to replace Beirut deputy Eido and Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel, the MP for Metin who was shot dead last November in another killing blamed on Syria.

Beirutis wonder what could happen between now and then, especially as the anniversary looms of the 2006 34-day war with Israel, which erupted last July 12 after Hizbullah seized two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid.

"It is a disaster. There are no tourists to buy our products and even the Lebanese don't feel comfortable spending money on unnecessary things," said Nadine Zayat who manages a shop on Beirut's famous Hamra Street.

"We have been losing business since the war. Many shops, restaurants and cafes have closed," she said. "If I do not work I do not buy from the grocer, who in turn cannot send his son to school. We can't go on like this."

"Two million-plus visitors should have been coming here this summer, but last year's war, the ongoing political crisis and the endless bombings have produced an environment too perilous for all but the hardiest tourist," analyst Blanche said.
The latest statistics on tourism in Lebanon

The statistics issued by the Lebanese Ministry of Tourism mentioned that the last month of May witnessed the arrival of 28809 tourists from the Arab countries which forms 32% of total tourists coming to Lebanon. 9229 were Jordanians who represent 32% of all Arab tourists, followed by 5870 Iraqis at a rate of 20% and Saudis 4143 tourists with a rate of 14% of total Arab tourists.

The official statistics added that European tourists numbered 19749, where the French counted 5543 on top of the list with a rate of 28% of European tourists, followed by Germans 2884 at a rate of 15%, while the British numbered 2035 with a rate of 10% of European tourists.

The Lebanese Director General of the Ministry of Tourism stated that the American tourism came in the 3rd position as they numbered 10959 tourists followed by tourists from Asia who totaled 6137 tourists.

you know im really hearing the opposite .. my parents sold their house in beirut and now are looking for a summer house to rent and they said they couldn't stand all the congestion (and they couldn't find a house) so they're going to aramoun! everyone i talk to is telling me that the country is packed and people are going out

o one more thing, i dont think the iraqis are coming in for tourism!

ooww 2 million it would have been if it wasnt for the July war
hopefully 2008 will bring the numbers back into the Millions

you know im really hearing the opposite .. my parents sold their house in beirut and now are looking for a summer house to rent and they said they couldn't stand all the congestion (and they couldn't find a house) so they're going to aramoun! everyone i talk to is telling me that the country is packed and people are going out

Yes,A lebanese friend of mind living in Germany wants to be a house in lebanon but he didn't find one in Beirut,because there's NONE.but he said it's koz of pple that were living in Dahyeh,bought or rented houses in Beirut,that's why u can't find a house to buy.

we were meant to sell our home in Lebanon, but the people changed there minds ....... im not fussed i love that house

Beirut hotelier calls strike to demand state help

Friday, June 29, 2007
Daily Star staff


BEIRUT: A hotel owner called on all tourist establishments in Beirut to abide by a two day strike on Monday to protest the government's negligence of the tourism sector. Amin Khayat, also president of the Tourist Institutions in Beirut, warned the strike is just the beginning.

"We may resort to other means in the next 15 days if the government and the concerned parties refrained from assisting the tourism sector," Khayat told a press conference. "The government promised us to secure a special fund to help the tourism sector. But none of their promises were fulfilled."

He said that hotels will stop receiving visitors for two days.

Khayat wants a special electricity bill for all tourist establishments, as is the case for industrialists, and a resetting of taxes and VAT.

But most hotel and restaurant owners are unlikely to comply with the strike call although they all sympathize with Khayat's demands.

"We fully sympathize with Khayat's demands but I don't think most of the establishments will close their businesses for two days," Paul Aryss, the president of the Restaurant Owners Association, told the paper.

He added that there was no coordination with other associations on this move.

"The restaurants and the Hotel Association are planning to make an important declaration soon and we may call for a strike in all the country if the government does not meet our demands," Aryss said.

He added that 10 percent of the restaurants in Beirut and the rest of the country are actually receiving customers while the rest have seen their business drop drastically.

The tourism sector was battered after the Israeli war on Lebanon in July 2006 and the ensuing political developments.

Most hotel reservations have been cancelled following the fighting in Nahr al Bared refugee camp and the assassination of a prominent political figure.

"Many restaurant owners are on the verge of bankruptcy and some of them have laid off their staff," Aryss said.

He stressed that the government should assist the tourist industry, warning that these establishments will not remain idle forever. - The Daily Star



Copyright (c) 2007 The Daily Star

If he stops recieving customers for 2 days then he will be the only one who looses..Dumb...If someone travels to Lebanon there going to regardless if one hotel is closed...They will stay somewhere else..DUmb

Wasnt sure where to put this .... here is fine

Breakfast at an upmarket hotel in the Lebanese capital begins at 6:30am. Nearly three quarters of an hour later, the tables are still set and pristine, the buffet untouched.

"There is no one," the restaurant manager said, shaking his head.

Beirut should be buzzing, if only with expatriates returning to holiday in their homeland. But traffic flows freely in the city's normally clogged streets, and foreign pedestrians are few and far between.

Anyone on foot is fair game for the many empty taxis that cruise the streets, touting for business by double tooting their horns.

Starbucks in the city's central business district must be the global coffee chain's sole outlet in which the staff sometimes sit at outdoor tables waiting for customers.

The expensive high-rise area of Beirut, rebuilt after it was devastated during the 1975-1990 civil war, should be thronged with well-heeled Gulf Arabs dispensing their dollars. It is not.

Flights into Rafiq Hariri International Airport are landing more than half empty during what should be the country's lucrative tourism season. But for the second year running visitors are choosing to go elsewhere.

Swimwear can now be bought for up to 70 per cent discount from some stores at a time when prices should be premium.

"We are in free-fall," tourism ministry director general Nada Sardouk said. "The assassinations, the bombings, the fighting in Nahr al-Bared and the continued political crisis have badly affected tourism.

"In May 2006, the number of arrivals to Lebanon was 109,441 while in May 2007 it was only 72,676. So we are down 33 per cent," she said.

After nightfall the army mounts snap vehicle checkpoints, in addition to those that are semi-permanent, in a high-profile display of security that causes the capital's only traffic tailbacks.

The continuing siege of Fatah al-Islam militants in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared north of Lebanon's second city of Tripoli and a series of deadly bombings in and around Beirut since the standoff began on May 20 have created a pervasive sense of unease.

On May 23, 16 people were wounded by a bomb at the predominantly Druze town of Aley in the mountains east of the capital, traditionally a haven for vacationing Gulf Arabs.

"Tourism is vital to Lebanon, and without it the economy simply atrophies," said Beirut-based Middle East analyst Ed Blanche.

Many Lebanese fear for the future.

When parliamentarian Walid Eido was killed on June 13 by a car bomb in the seafront area of mainly Muslim west Beirut, members of the anti-Syrian majority blamed Damascus, an accusation Syria denied.

Now the government has set August 5 for by-elections to replace Beirut deputy Eido and industry minister Pierre Gemayel, the MP for Metn who was shot dead last November in another killing blamed on Syria.

Beirutis wonder what could happen between now and then, especially as the anniversary looms of the 2006 34-day war with Israel, which erupted last July 12 after Hezbollah seized two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid.

"It is a disaster. There are no tourists to buy our products and even the Lebanese don't feel comfortable spending money on unnecessary things," said Nadine Zayat who manages a shop on Beirut's famous Hamra Street.

"We have been losing business since the war. Many shops, restaurants and cafes have closed," she said. "If I do not work I do not buy from the grocer, who in turn cannot send his son to school. We can't go on like this."

Syria withdrew its troops from Lebanon in 2005 after dominating its smaller neighbour for 29 years. The pull-out came amid international condemnation after the assassination in February that year of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri.

But Syrian influence remains strong.

Politically, Lebanon has been paralysed since November when six pro-Damascus ministers resigned, saying the cabinet had torpedoed the power-sharing arrangements in force since the civil war.

With Eido's murder, the ruling majority has now seen its margin eroded to a five-seat majority in the 126-member parliament.

The UN Security Council in May adopted a resolution imposing a tribunal to try suspects in Hariri's murder. It came into force automatically on June 10, yet another factor adding to the growing sense of foreboding.

"Two million-plus visitors should have been coming here this summer, but last year's war, the ongoing political crisis and the endless bombings have produced an environment too perilous for all but the hardiest tourist," said analyst Blanche.

At night, as cars negotiate the increasing number of security checks, some pavement cafes still do good business, although the more expensive restaurants catering for high-rolling visitors remain deserted.

"Beirut may be empty compared to other times, but it's not a dead city," insisted Karim Daher, an unemployed father of three.

Despite the uncertainties clouding their horizon, the young people of Beirut still love to party. They just wish more tourists would come to join them.

AFP

From " The Age"

$2bn Saudi bank set to promote tourism
JEDDAH: A $2-billion bank has been set up in Saudi Arabia to promote regional tourism projects.

An agreement for the establishment of The Arab Tourism Bank was signed on July 4 at Hilton Hotel in Jeddah between the local Arab Tourism Organisation and Siraj Capital of Lebanon.
The ceremony was attended by Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, the secretary general for the Supreme Commission for Tourism in Saudi Arabia, and Joseph Sarkis, Lebanon's Minister of Tourism.

The two firms will carry out market and feasibility studies, financial and regulatory structuring work and the preparation of a private placement memorandum for the bank's initial paid up capital.

"Siraj will lead this initiative in partnership with Osus Company to identify the most appropriate model for the operation of the bank based on similar international existing models and to locate the strategic partners that would add the most value to the bank at its inception and later once it becomes operational," chairman of Siraj Capital Dr Ghassan Al Sulaiman said.

"The results of recent research and studies have underlined the importance of the establishment of The Arab Tourism Bank as a central focus point for supporting the development of the tourism sector throughout the Arab countries, where tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors," president of the Arab Tourism Organisation, Bandar Fahed Al Fehaid said.

The tourism investment bank will be capitalised at $2 billion and serve all Arab countries. Siraj and its partners will set up investment funds focusing on specific tourism sectors such as hotels, travel services, restaurants, sports tourism, entertainment and touristic venues, and health and religious tourism.

BEIRUT: Officials involved with a test program aimed at improving Lebanon's eco-tourism sector said that the program would increase Lebanon's tourism profile and improve the experience of eco-tourists in the country, although some people involved with the tourism industry also complained about the program's implementation.

Lebanese Tourism Minister Joseph Sarkis, in conjunction with officials from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the USAID-funded International Executive Service Corps (IESC) and the Federation of Touristic Syndicates announced plans on Tuesday to initiate the test program, which provides 70 hand-held Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to the tourism sector. USAID will evaluate the effectiveness of the program so as to decide whether to continue funding it in the future.

The devices contain specific software that offers locations of Lebanese eco-tourism sites. The IESC, using a definition from the International Ecotourism Society, characterizes eco-tourism as "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people."

The use of this technology "will help to create new jobs," said Lebanese Tourism Minister Joseph Sarkis on Tuesday. "It will [also] help introduce Lebanon to everyone."

Others, however, criticized aspects of the program, including the fact that the provided GPS maps do not include many of Lebanon's best locations for eco-tourism. Faisal Abu-Izzeddin, Chief of Party for the USAID-funded Lebanon Mountain Trail Project, expressed displeasure that the eco-tourism sites along his organization's 400 kilometer hiking trail were not included on the maps.

"We've been exploring 400 kilometers of mostly unknown areas [of Lebanon]," said Abu-Izzeddin, who added that no officials asked him to provide locations of sites along the trail. "[We are] the heart of eco-tourism," he added.

The PDA program is being implemented through the IESC's Lebanon-specific program Access to International Markets through Information Technology (AIM-IT), which has received two years of funding worth $3.3 million, courtesy of USAID. Tourism-involved entities like hotels and guides will receive the PDA devices on a rotating basis at no cost, and will then lend them out to individual tourists for use - also free of charge.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb

GPS PDAs electronically link up with satellites to provide people with the ability to view their precise locations on a detailed map. The 70 PDAs provided by the IESC additionally possess information specific to Lebanon not found on other analogous PDAs - allowing tourists to search both for places such as local restaurants and also for broad categories like eco-tourism.

"Eco-tourism is what we're really focusing on," added Megan Powell, an IESC volunteer expert. These devices "increase awareness of rural, undiscovered Lebanon."

However, many eco-tourism sites were left off the GPS maps, both because of time considerations and as a result of the current security situation in the country, according to employees of Orion Digital Navigation, which designed the both the PDA devices and the software they use.

"We had a problem with the security situation," said Ghassan Mikati, a manager at Orion. "It affected the data collection on the ground."

Although the PDA devices offer locations of both prominent and obscure tourist sites in the Mount Lebanon region, the devices only provide maps for well-known sites in the north and the south, added Mikati.

"If we're just going to stick to ... Baalbek, it's not enough," said Abu-Izzeddin. "We want to make sure our...walking trail is featured prominently. For us it doesn't matter if [the devices] are free or cost money."

Other concerns were also expressed regarding the program. The president of the Tour Guide Syndicate Haytham Fawaz said that, instead of lending the PDA devices out to tourists for brief periods, the duration of lending should be extended so people "[don't have] to ask all the time to borrow it."

Officials involved with the program, when faced with criticism, defended their efforts. The providing of the 70 PDA devices is "just the beginning" of the program, said IESC Lebanon Director Mohammad Bensouda. Mikati added that the program "is only a start," and that "you cannot make everyone happy the first time." Orion will also make updates to the GPS maps, said Mikati, updates that will include "anyone who wants to be a part of it."

^^ i really dont think we're ones to talk about eco anything

Lebanon to cut electricity fees to help ailing tourism industry
Hotels, resorts 'will be offered subsidized loans'

Daily Star staff
Friday, August 03, 2007

Lebanon to cut electricity fees to help ailing tourism industry

BEIRUT: The government intends to reduce the electricity fees for hotels and other tourist establishments to help them weather the negative effects of the aftermath of the war and mounting political tensions, Tourism Minister Joe Sarkis said on Thursday. Speaking at a news conference at the Grand Serail along with Finance Minister Jihad Azour and Economy Minister Sami Haddad, Sarkis said the cut in electricity fees is part of a plan to allow all tourist institutions stand on its feet.

He added that the government has also offered to subsidize 4 percent of bank loans to all tourist establishments.

The news conference was also attended by some hotel owners and representatives of tourist institutions.

Lebanon's tourism sector suffered a big blow after the Israelis staged a full-scale attack on Lebanon on July 12, 2006.

Economists estimate that Lebanon lost more than $2 billion in expected revenues form the tourism season last summer as most Arab and foreign tou-rists fled the country in panic as Israeli war planes attacked infrastructures and bridges.

To make matters even worse, the eight-month sit-in which was staged by the opposition in Beirut Central District scared away the rest of the tourists and closed dozens of businesses

Most hotels in Beirut and the mountains report less than 30-percent room occupancy since the crisis stared in the summer of 2006.

According to the tourism plan, the government will cut electricity fees from LL80 to LL50 for 1 Kilowatt per hour in the evening and from LL320 to LL160 for 1 Kilowatts during peak hours.

Sarkis said 284 hotels, 175 residential tourist complexes and seven beach resorts would benefit from the reduction in the electricity fees.

"This initiative, which was done in coordination with the Energy and Water Ministry, will continue until the end of May 2008," the minister explained.

But Sarkis also took this opportunity to blast the opposition forces in Lebanon.

"Those who are attacking the Lebanese government and actually contradicting themselves," Sarkis said.

He added that the opposition is demanding better social and economic services and at the same time they cripple the government by refusing to hold presidential elections on time and convening the Parliament.

The minister also criticized the sit in which has forced many businesses in Beirut Central District to shut down completely.

"I appeal to the opposition to remove the tents that were pitched in the BCD as a gesture of good will because this act is only hurting the economy, not the government," Sarkis said.

Haddad, meanwhile, stressed that the tents in the BCD are an occupation of property and this occupation is illegal and must end soon.

Azour also underlined the importance of creating a positive environment to help create more jobs and stimulate the economy.

"Tourism is one of the key pillars of the Lebanese economy and for this reason we should also work to revitalize this sector," Azour said.

He added that the government plans to help touristic establishments in Lebanon by offering subsidized bank loans.

Azour said the subsidized loans would be discussed with the Central Bank and the Association of Banks in Lebanon.

The president of the Hotel Owners' Syndicate Pierre Ashkar thanked the government for the incentive but said this step is far from the ambitions of the tourism industry.

"We suffered lots of losses over the past year and we hoped that the government would come up with more initiative to allow this sector to recover some of the losses," Ashkar said. - The Daily Star

Lebanon: Help for Tourism Sector


28 August 2007
Earlier this month the government announced measures designed to support the ailing tourism sector, which continues to bear the economic brunt of the war with Israel last summer and the political turmoil that followed.

The government said it will lower electricity tariffs for hotels and other tourism-based companies until May 2008, slashing prices from LL80 ($0.054) to LL50 ($0.034) for 1 Kilowatt per hour in the evening and from LL320 ($0.22) to LL160 ($0.11) in peak hours. This measure, undertaken in coordination with the energy and water ministryenergy and water ministry, is aimed to benefit hotels, residential tourist complexes and beach resorts, still trying to recover from the effects of last year's unrest.

In addition, the government said it would subsidise 4% of bank loans to all tourism sector businesses.

The president of the Hotel Owners' Syndicate, Pierre Ashkar, told local media, "We suffered lots of losses over the past year and we hoped the government would come up with more initiative to allow this sector to recover some of the losses."

According to the tourism ministrytourism ministry, the losses amount to $2.2bn for 2006 alone. According to the World Bank, Lebanon's GDP in 2005 was $21.9bn.

Jean Beyrouthy, president of the Syndicate of Touristic Balnéaire Establishments and general secretary of the Federation of Touristic Syndicates, also expressed disappointment over the measures. He told OBG that despite what the government has announced, nothing has actually been done yet. He called the announcement promotion tactics on the government's part. He added that even if it were to happen, "it's just the beginning and [it is] not enough."

Beyrouthy said that since last summer, the tourism sector's problems have been getting worse and it is currently going through a "very bad period" due to the political situation and fighting in the Nahr el Bared camp between the army and Islamic radicals.

"If the government doesn't do anything to help those in the tourism sector pay their debts, many people will go bankrupt," he told OBG.

Government figures show that in the first seven months of 2007, there were 539,027 tourists visiting Lebanon, representing a year-on-year decrease of 27%.

In the latest HotelBenchmark survey on the Middle East released by Deloitte this month, Beirut reported revenue per available room (revPAR) decline of almost 54% to $39 in the first half of this year.

According to the local press, cumulative losses of Lebanon's 350 hotels in the second half of 2006 amounted to $282m. Occupancy rates in Beirut fell from about 90% to as low as 10% and between zero and 5% in other parts of the country. Things don't look better for 2007. In January, visitor arrivals were 38.6% lower than for the same month a year ago and 20% lower than in December 2006.

Last month, a total of 126,986 tourists entered the country, a 17% improvement on figures for July 2006, although the latter was the month in which the Beirut airport was bombed, preventing incoming and outgoing flights.

On the bright side, July's figures represented an increase of 83% on June's figures, indicating that the lull in bombings has encouraged a late tourism revival.

Beyrouthy told OBG that since the parliamentary by-election took place late July, the tourism sector has seen some increase in occupancy, "although this is still not to be compared to the occupancy levels of 2004 and 2005". According to Beyrouthy, the hotel occupancy rate for Beirut and Mount Lebanon in August will be a maximum of 45% to 47%.

Beyrouthy, who owns a Bel Azur hotel and beach resort, said the hotel was faring better than many others. As a seaside resort it has been able to attract business through its range of activities such as diving and jet-skiing. The hotel is currently enjoying a 75% occupancy rate "but at the beginning of September, the tourist season will end," said Beyrouthy.

Many projects under construction in the hotel sector are having their launch dates postponed, Christian Fernaine, managing partner of Ulysses Management & Consulting, told OBG. The Beirut Waterfront Development, a residential, commercial and recreational project, has pushed back its opening from March 2009 to 2010 while the Hilton, which was due to open on July 1 this year, postponed its opening to some time next year.

Still, investments in the country continue to take place. Two months ago, construction began on a Kuwaiti-financed project near Bhamdoun, a popular summer mountain retreat of visiting Arab tourists. The project will include a hotel, apartment building and villas. Kuwaiti investors were also behind the purchase of Beirut's Riviera Hotel at the end of June. According to locally based Byblos Bank's latest economic report, the Kuwait Company for Process Plant Construction and Contracting will invest $22.4m in two new hotels in Lebanon - the $6.4m Star Tower Hotel and the $16m Sify Crow Hotel.

Any real revival of the tourism sector will not begin until the end of 2008, said Fernaine. He said it takes time to restore tourists' confidence and for them to believe in the country again.

"There are expectations 2009 will be similar to 2004, in terms of arrivals and hotel occupancy," he said.

© Oxford Business Group 2007

Lebanon's Tourists Increase 17 Percent in July

14 Aug 2007


The number of tourists arriving in Lebanon jumped by 17.25 percent in July compared with the same month of last month, the Beirut based Arabic daily AL BALAD reported.

According to numbers published by Lebanon’s ministry of tourism 126,986 visitors entered into Lebanon in July compared to 108,305 in the same month of last, keeping in mind that last year’s numbers are only for the first 12 days of the month. The bulk of the July tourists are from other Arab nations totaling around 48,391 visitors. The second source of tourists for Lebanon was Europe with 41,013 European tourists visiting this beautiful country in July.

Among Arabs the Iraqis were the largest group numbering around 14,129 tourists or 29 percent of the total number of Arabs who entered Lebanon in July. Jordanians were the second largest group totaling 11,546 and Saudis 7,942.

Among Europeans the biggest group was from France numbering 10,723 or 26 percent of the total number of European visitors. The Germany numbered 8,650 followed by the English 4,423. Tourists from the Americas led by the Americans numbered 14,797 while Asians numbered 14,534.

The total number of tourist for the first half of this year declined by 27.07 percent to reach 539,027 compared with 739,109 in 2006.

This is good news for the small Mediterranean country. The service industry led by the tourism and the banking sectors form the main pillar of the country's economy. The majority of the Lebanese workforce nearly 65 percent have preferred employment in the services sector, as a result of the abundant job opportunities and large paychecks. The GDP contribution, accordingly, is very large and amounts to roughly 67.3 percent of the annual Lebanese GDP.

Thursday, September 13, 2007



BEIRUT: The Tourism Ministry tried to put the best face on Lebanon's political crisis Wednesday by hosting a press conference to launch a promotional campaign branding the country "the safest place on Earth."

The centerpiece of the campaign is a television commercial enticing Lebanese expatriates to spend holidays in their ancestral homeland. The ministry commissioned advertising agency Impact BBDO to produce the spot, which a statement from Tourism Minister Joe Sarkis described as representing "an unconventional idea reflecting transparency and credibility."

The ministry, he added, "is constantly looking to uphold the image of Lebanon as a tourist destination in the minds of the people who love this country."

The television commercial opens with the assertion that "Lebanon is the safest place on Earth" before cutting to scenes of Lebanese of all ages welcoming relatives at Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport.

According to Impact BBDO, some of the footage was of actual families being reunited, lending considerable measures of authenticity and spontaneity to the campaign - and power to its emotional appeal.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb

Dani Richa, managing director and chief creative officer for Impact BBDO, outlined some of the challenges associated with designing such a campaign.

"Promoting Lebanese tourism is, at the same time, one of the most difficult and easiest tasks," Richa told the press conference. "For every second of good publicity," he remarked, "there are hours of negative publicity on every channel throughout the world.

"The primary objective of the campaign," Richa added, "was to reassure people without having to lie to them.

"The current security situation could not be ignored," he acknowledged. "We could, however, remind Lebanese expatriates that the kind of warmth and security felt at being surrounded by Lebanese family and friends cannot be found anywhere else on Earth." - The Daily Star

'safest place on earth'...that's a bit going too far isn't it? lol

yea especially the last year..I think they need to wait till after November to launch that lol

I saw the publicity on Future TV. It's not that bad but I didn't like it.

Here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HB92DP44pWg

concept is nice..but i think premature..or they should add the line "just don't leave the airport" :ohno:

BEIRUT: The Tourism Ministry on Thursday turned to the Internet in an effort to boost sales of the dwindling sector through online marketing. Funded by the US Agency for International Development, the "Building Lebanon's Tourism Businesses through Online Channels" project was launched by the ministry, in collaboration with the International Executive Service Corps (IESC).

"E-tourism" allows tourism enterprises to use the Internet to offer tourism services online. In Lebanon, this would allow the country to market itself as a tourism destination and compete in the global tourism market.

"The global tourism industry has been transformed by the Internet," Marc Yanofsky, president of Management Associates, told reporters.

Planning a trip and deciding on destinations are now performed online, he added.

"People don't turn to the experts anymore; they do, however, read blogs, visit tourism Web sites, or even turn to You Tube to know what real tourists think about a place."

Yanofsky believes that more than 60 percent of travelers go online to learn about a country, compare prices, or book for flights or hotels.

The project conducted a technology assessment of tourism enterprises, such as hotels and inns, restaurants, travel agencies, and municipalities.

The findings confirmed the existence of gap regarding the use of Internet between big and small enterprises.

The e-tourism project is part of a larger program aimed at integrating Lebanon with the international market.

The initiative was not well received by the head of the Lebanese Restaurant Association, Paul Ariss.

"The funds allocated for this program could have been used to tackle more pressing challenges that the tourism sector is facing under the current political atmosphere," Ariss told The Daily Star.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb

The money could have been used to train staff in the sector, which has been suffering from shortage of qualified workers, said Ariss. Lebanon is suffering a "hemorrhage of professional workers" who have left to work in Gulf countries, he added.

An estimated 6,000 tourism employees have fled the country since the 2006 war with Israel, according to Ariss.

The remaining workforce remains competitive, but is not up to international standards.

"Training these employees comes at huge costs [for businesses]," Ariss said.

However, George Beyrouthy, the president of Sea Resort Hotels in Lebanon, believes the initiative allows the tourism sector to be ready for a re-launch when the current political conflict is resolved.

"Politics is the only challenge facing tourism today" said Beyrouthy. "Lebanon has the potential to be a top tourist destination in the Middle East once the conflict settles."

Still, the tourism sector has witnessed a 40 percent decline in turnover since 2006.

Ariss harshly criticized the government for taxing restaurants that are still open in the Downtown area, where the opposition has been staging a sit in for almost 11 months.

"This is crazy," said Ariss, who explained how the owners plan to meet Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to protest the tax.

As a result, restaurants and other businesses have found creative ways to survive.

Facing the challenge of continuity, restaurants have opened abroad, especially in the Gulf, according to Ariss.

Restaurants outside of Beirut have been hit the most by the weak season, he added.

dailystar

INTERVIEW-Lebanon's tourism industry dogged by peril
Wed Oct 31, 2007 7:58am EDT

ROUMIEH, Lebanon, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Fearing assassination, Lebanon's tourism minister rarely moves from his heavily protected home in the hills near Beirut -- while trying to convince wary foreigners that the country is safe to visit.

Joseph Sarkis knows it's a hard sell after last year's summer war between Israel and Hezbollah when Beirut airport abruptly closed, stranding tens of thousands of tourists.

"It's amazing that still people continue to come, they take the challenge," he told Reuters at his home in the Christian village of Roumieh as army troops stood guard outside.

Tourism has floundered since the war, which led to a paralysing political crisis aggravated by the killings of three anti-Syrian lawmakers and a five-week army battle to crush Islamist militants at a northern Palestinian refugee camp.

Sarkis and his colleagues in the ruling majority take elaborate security precautions to foil what they say are Syrian-inspired attacks. Damascus denies any involvement.

In such a tense climate, even Lebanese expatriates, many of whom hold foreign passports and account for a hefty proportion of tourist numbers, now apparently need reassurance.

Lebanese TV channels are carrying spots sponsored by the Tourism Ministry with airport footage of Lebanese arriving to an emotional welcome from relatives with flowers and balloons.

The commercial's slogan -- "Lebanon is the safest place on earth" -- is aimed at Arabs and other foreigners too.

"The message is that Lebanon is a country known for the hospitality of its people. We like to receive foreigners, give them a kiss and make them feel at home," Sarkis said.

TOURISM POTENTIAL

Lebanon has undoubted tourism potential with its lively nightlife, fine cuisine, beaches, ski-slopes and ancient ruins, but Sarkis acknowledged that a full-scale drive to revive the industry must await the outcome of the struggle to elect a new president before pro-Syrian Emile Lahoud's term ends on Nov. 23.

He said the opposition might stage street protests or even close the vital airport road through Beirut's Shi'ite suburbs if parliament chose a head of state not to its liking.

Lebanon's only airport is the easiest route in or out of the Mediterranean country, which borders Israel and Syria.

"We cannot foresee exactly, but if we have a new president for all Lebanese, accepted by the majority and the minority, I think Lebanon will resume tourist activity," Sarkis predicted.

Lebanon attracted just over a million visitors last year, when the war wrecked its target of 1.6 million tourists and $4 billion in revenue and investment in tourist projects. Tourism had been expected to generate 12 percent of economic output. Nearly 767,000 tourists came in the first nine months of 2007. Sarkis hopes for a full-year total of nearly a million.

As usual, about 40 percent of this year's visitors were Arabs, 25 percent Europeans and the rest from elsewhere.

Sarkis said very few came in organised groups, reflecting security fears among tour operators, but he vowed to keep Lebanon on the world tourism map until better times returned.

"We have to explain that what is happening in Lebanon is temporary...and show the real image of the country, not the one people see as a country of war, assassinations and terrorism."

Lebanon's hotel industry takes a dive

Daily Star staff
Monday, November 05, 2007

BEIRUT: A new survey of the Middle East hotel sector by Ernst & Young indicates that occupancy rate at hotels in Beirut was 38 percent in the first 8 months of 2007, down by 19 percentage points from 57 percent in the same period last year. The occupancy rate in Beirut was the lowest among 20 markets in the region, as it was in the same period in 2006, and posted the steepest annual drop in the region, as reported by Lebanon This Week, the economic publication of the Byblos Bank Group.

The survey said that the average rate per room at Beirut hotels was $111 in the first 8 months of the year, ranking the capital's hotels as the 12th most expensive in the region.

The average rate per room at Beirut hotels declined by 15.1 percent year-on-year and posted the steepest drop among all markets in the region. The average rate per room in Beirut came below the regional average of $161.

The occupancy rate of Beirut hotels was 26.4 percent in January and 27.8 percent in February, but rose to 41 percent in March and 56.2 percent in April before dropping to 47 percent in May and 21 percent in June. It increased to 41 percent in July and 47 percent in August, but remained far below normal rates during the peak summer months of June to August.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb

Further, revenues per available room (RevPAR), were $51 in Beirut in the first 8 months of 2007, down from $91 in the same period last year, ranking it in 19th place in the region.

Beirut's RevPAR was down 44.2 percent compared to the same period of 2006, posting the sharpest decline among the 20 regional markets. Beirut, Doha and Mecca were the only markets to report RevPAR declines so far this year.

Dubai posted the highest occupancy rate in the Middle East at 87 percent, the highest average room rate at $260 and the highest RevPAR at $227, while Abu Dhabi registered the region's highest growth in RevPAR at 27.7 percent. - The Daily Star

Beirut: The real flavour of Lebanon
Conflict may have scarred Beirut's recent past, but Katy Guest discovers that the Lebanese capital is a vibrant, welcoming place. Just go easy on the snacks... :)
Published: 03 November 2007

It's a hot, humid Wednesday afternoon, and I am facing west with a cold beer as the sun begins to set over the Mediterranean. Behind me is a glittering terrace of cool, blue swimming pools, ahead there is nothing until the north coast of Tunisia, and I'm sharing the beach with only one sunbathing lizard and the footprints of a wading bird. For the 15th time today, I congratulate myself for ignoring the people who told me I was mad to holiday in Beirut.

For those of us who grew up with footage of Terry Waite, "war-torn" Beirut and the bullet-riddled Holiday Inn, the Lebanese capital is not what we might expect. Sure, there are still soldiers around the Frenchified area of Downtown. One of them strolls with us towards the Corniche, pointing out tourist sites. Another is amused by my utility belt/handbag, pacing around me unzipping pockets and discovering "Camera... maquillage... d'argent..." Oh yes, most Lebanese are trilingual, educated in Arabic, French and English. They receive any attempt to speak their language with a torrent of delighted congratulations – in yours.

Like the rambling wild jasmines that scent its courtyards and streets, the city has blossomed since it was cut back hard during the Civil War. Many of the old Ottoman and French era buildings in Beirut's Central District have been carefully restored. New restaurants and bars flourish in the nightspots of Monot and Gemmayzeh. In Downtown, a project is under way to build a walkway through the Phoenician, Hellenistic, Roman, Arab and Ottoman archaeology – in the combined shadows of St George's Cathedral and Al-Amin Mosque. And another long-term project, which shows the Beirutis' commitment to optimism and good fun, has bulldozed the war's rubble out to sea to create a spit of reclaimed land.

The massive Sky Bar, at the Beirut International Exhibition and Leisure Centre (BIEL), whose roof terrace opens to the stars during dusky, summer nights, has been the place to be this year. The Commodore Hotel, once the iconic war correspondents' hangout, has been rebranded as the Meridien and now contains a trendy sushi bar.

Most evenings in Beirut start and end with food. And there is no better place to start than at Café Gemmayzeh, also known as the Glass Café for its huge, etched windows and the antique Art Deco lanterns around its yellow walls. During the day, old men linger over date juice, smoke hookahs called narghiles and play backgammon for enormous stakes. By 9pm, its little marble tables are filled with groups of young people drinking Almaza beer, munching salty pumpkin seeds and flirting with the waiters. At 10.30, the house band starts up on oud and tambour, wailing songs about their "habibi" and provoking a spate of inspired dancing. There are few proper dancefloors in Beirut, I'm told, which is why you will often find people grooving on the tables. Through the warm nights, the doors of cafés and bars are flung open and the streets are perfumed with sweet grape tobacco as a hundred bubbling narghiles release their aromas.

When smoking in a group, it is polite to order an extra bis (either a disposable mouthpiece, or a nipple, depending on your adherence to Freudian principles) per person. It is also wise to tip the coal boy, who will top up your fuel from an elaborate metal basket, which he whirls around insouciantly as if it were a Bic lighter. Apparently, there is a number you can phone for emergency coals – which explains why you see wobbly scooters speeding through the streets carrying buckets trailing soot.

When dining out in Lebanon, the important thing to remember is: do not finish the snacks. It is difficult not to. Every drink comes with a glass jammed with carrot sticks in lemon juice. Every meal is preceded by nuts, delicate pickles and steaming flat breads with rich, tahini-heavy hummus. Every puff of grapey tobacco makes it that much easier to cram in another mouthful. But you will regret this when the grilled-meat course comes along.

I discovered this to my cost during iftar, the meal at which Muslims break their fast during Ramadan. It was the last day of the abstemious festival and perhaps a month of hunger pangs had left room in many for the vats of hummus, salads, couscous, grilled meats, sharp pickled chillis and a pile of stuffed vine leaves the size of Mount Lebanon; all I know is that I had to beg them to stop bringing more courses when it came to the dessert. "It's only fruit," complained the waiter. But it wasn't: there was also blancmange covered in pistachio nuts and a local delicacy that most resembled slices of halloumi cheese, sugared and deep-fried.

Although Beirut has large Sunni and Shia Muslim communities, it is one of the most liberal and religiously diverse cities in the Middle East. Women dress right up in skimpy, designer gear for a night at the pub, leaving the covered-up foreigner feeling like a frump. Plastic surgery is a mark of sophistication – one bank even has a special loan for it – and headscarfed women stroll down the Corniche proudly displaying their bandaged noses.

Different political and religious groups warily tolerate each other. Churches rub shoulders with mosques, as Christian quarters do with Muslim areas. But I think it must have been one of the atheist quarters where we started our post-iftar bar-crawl. Pacifico's for cocktails, Mexican food and malt whisky (Britain's third-biggest export to Lebanon); Podium for karaoke, where a beautiful British expatriate belted out of Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart"; 961 bar and microbrewery, where the beerophile owner Mazen Hajjar brews some of the best real ales I have ever tasted; Cocktails and Dreams for a nightcap. At the bar, a girl was sobbing over some lost love. The shy barman brought napkins and, when she continued crying, provided tequila on the house. She left at 4am looking much cheered.

Lebanon's geography is such that most activities can be done somewhere in the country. In spring, it is possible to ski in the mountains and swim in the (chilly) sea on the same day. If you haven't drunk till dawn, a hike in the mountains is a fantastic way to spend a day. During one hilly afternoon I found an ancient convent where they grow chillis and olives on the sunbaked mountains, and met a grey-bearded hermit who accepts visitors in his chapel-cave in the mountain.

The following day, I took in the spectacular ruins of Baalbek, and went across the border to Damascus for an evening's feverish shopping in the souk (thank goodness consumerism isn't banned during Ramadan). For an easy ride, I booked a driver for the day. The unfeasibly handsome Elie picked us up in his air-conditioned BMW and steered us chivalrously through Syrian customs without a hitch.

After an all-nighter sampling Beirut's legendary café culture, however, a relaxing day was called for. Which is how I found myself lounging on a beach beside a birthplace of civilisation, sipping iced water and watching dragonflies. Byblos, just north of Beirut, is thought to be the world's oldest continually occupied town. It costs the equivalent of £2 to visit the Phoenician sarcophagi and the Crusader castle, where pomegranates and date palms grow, a little black cat darts between the stones and an ancient, maple syrup-scented breeze blows off the sea. In the fishing port next door – whose stone gates mark what remains of the centre of the Phoenician trading empire – the Bab el Mina restaurant serves a cheap set menu of olives, fresh pistachios, and a spicy oil called za'atar, along with enough fried fish to feed an army. Half a mile up the coast is the Eddé Sands beach club, to sleep it all off. All three swimming pools are blissfully cool on our dusty feet. The beach is empty. Even better, after 1 October (when the temperature just drops below 27C and winter is declared), the club is free to use – and deserted. I'm glad that the tourists are boldly returning to revitalise Beirut, eating, drinking and merry-making in its restaurants and bars, but right now, it's nice to have the entire beach to myself. Scampering away, the sunbathing lizard agrees.

Traveller's guide

GETTING THERE

The writer flew with Middle East Airlines (020-7467 8020; www.mea.com.lb), which serves Beirut direct from Heathrow. BMI (0870 60 70 555; flybmi.com) flies the same route. Many other airlines can get you there; the widest range of options from regional airports is available with Air France/KLM (0870 142 4343; www.airfrance.co.uk) with a change of plane in Paris or Amsterdam. To reduce the impact on the environment, you can buy an "offset" from Equiclimate (0845 456 0170; www.ebico.co.uk) or Pure (020-7382 7815; www.puretrust.org.uk).


GETTING AROUND

ProTaxi (00 961 5 468 046) will negotiate a price for an air-conditioned car and driver for a few hours or a full day. The writer paid US$160 (£80) from 11am-1am.


STAYING THERE

Le Meridien Commodore, Commodore Street (00 961 1 734 734; www.starwoodhotels.com). Doubles from US$122 (£61), with breakfast.

EATING & DRINKING THERE

Gemmayzeh Café, Rue Gouraud (00 961 1 580817) and Rue Monot (00 961 1 204 446). Bab El Mina restaurant, Byblos Old Harbour (00 961 9 540475; www.babelmina.com).


VISITING THERE

Liban Trek (00 961 1 329975; www.libantrek.com) claims to be Lebanon's "first ecotourism company" and can organise hiking in the hills, picking up at various points in Beirut.

Eddé Sands Hotel and Beach Club, Byblos (00 9619 546 666; www.eddesands.com).


RED TAPE & MORE INFORMATION

British passport-holders require a visa to enter Lebanon, and these can be obtained on arrival for around US$40 (£20). Anyone with evidence in their passport of a visit to Israel runs the risk of being sent straight back home. The Foreign Office (0845 850 2829; www.fco.gov.uk) advises against all but essential travel to Lebanon. But some insurers will cover you, for about £30, provided that you stay north of the Litani River. Lebanon tourist office: www.destinationlebanon.gov.lb

Hotel Sector - Think outside the box (September 2007 No.98)

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Hotel managements hang on despite sluggish season


It’s hardly been a great tourist summer. According to the numbers published by the ministry of tourism, the number of tourist arrivals in July reached 126,986 compared to 188,465 in 2005. In June, arrivals were down nearly 60% from 2006 which was proving to be a bumper year until the war broke out.

Looking back, growth from 2001 to the beginning of 2005 averaged 20% to 30%. The first six months of 2006 were excellent with 32% growth and 71% occupancy in Beirut before the high summer traveling season. There was not enough time to recover from the war before the string of events that kept Lebanon in the news and resulted in the worst season for 15 years. Occupancy rates were under 20% for the first six months of this year and rising to between 28-35% in August, according to Pierre Achkar, President of the Lebanese Federation of Tourism and Hotel Associations and owner of the Monroe Hotel, the Markazia Monroe Suites and Printania Palace in Broumana. “When you are running below 45%, you are losing a lot of money.” From the war to the present, estimated damages to the tourism sector hover around $286 million.


In the BCD, an area once touted as the new hotel epicenter but which has now become Camp Solidere, home to an eight month demo, the squatters have succeeded in crippling at least two hotels and forcing nearly 200 businesses to close their doors. The Markazia Monroe Suites has had no clients since the protest began in December 2006. The hotel used to employ around 140 people but in the present situation, it is paying the salaries of 16 department heads just to keep them from going abroad. “How long can we hold out? Nobody knows. Do we have a financial problem? Yes. Are we going to be helped by the government? We don’t know,” says Achkar, who is considering legal action against the government for the sit-in. “When it lasts six to eight months, it’s illegal,” he argues. “They are impinging on my freedom.”


Owners need some assistance


Marwan Kairuz, chairman of Etoile Suites, also in the BCD, thought that he had escaped the losses of last summer when his hotel was fully booked by journalists. After the war his regular business returned, but once the sit-in began, it was game over. The streets were blocked and guests couldn’t access the hotel. As the protests dwindled and a few streets re-opened, he was able to achieve about 10-20% occupancy. In mid-August of this year the occupancy rate rose to around 40 to 50%, but at a price: today the average room rate is $80 compared to $220 in 2006 and $300 in 2005, while he has had to let go 70% of his staff. “We are losing money,” he said and admitted that he might have to sell some of his equity in the business.


Achkar believes that there should be greater responsibility on the part of the government to assist hotel owners because of the indirect destruction. He is asking that at the very least special loans should be provided with 0% interest for seven to ten years with owners keeping their managing interest. He believes that without this some will go out of business or the banks will move in. The syndicate has also asked the government for special electricity rates but the best the government can do is to offer the sector subsidized loans at 4%.


The brain drain is also having a negative impact, with many of Lebanon’s 120,000 tourism workers being lured to the Gulf. “I think that a lot of people working in the Gulf will be back,” says Achkar. “I have 40 former employees working in Qatar and Saudi Arabia and they tell me that the salary is only 10-20% more than that here.”


Think outside the box


The catch phrase this year for most four and five-star hotels is to “think outside the box” and focus on non-core activities such as weddings, with bookings staying steady at 2005 levels. The Mövenpick Hotel and Resort told Executive that 65 weddings were booked from July to September and that they are catering up to three a day on weekends.


Four and five-star hotels are in great locations with a full array of outlets such as high end restaurants, spas, gyms, and shopping areas — all the things one needs to take their mind off the stresses of the day. Mövenpick is one of them. Says Mira Hawa, director of sales and marketing, “[We] have been deriving business in different ways.”


Earlier this year, Mövenpick also ran a campaign in which local Lebanese were encouraged to stay and use the spa and generally pamper themselves. That campaign generated almost $65,000. Other promotions include a summer kid’s camp and “Me Time” at the Essential Spa for busy career women and mothers. Occupancy reached 65% in mid-August and they are expecting a healthy average of 50-55% for the year.


The management at the Metropolitan in Sin el-Fil has been relying on the boulevard shopping mall, the Elixia Spa and Habtoorland amusement park to keep them afloat. Last year, the Habtoor Grand Tower closed leaving only the Metropolitan Palace’s 200 rooms open for business. In August the hotel was running at a respectable 60% occupancy. It has also partnered with Middle East Airlines on a promotion for MEA ticket holders to stay four nights for the price of three.


Hotels outside Beirut such as Le Royal in Jounieh maintain they are at 50% occupancy in August, while Grand Hills in Broumana and Mzaar Intercontinental near Faraya are offering weekend getaway packages for two including a room, meals and spa treatment. Although these are normally off-season promotions, this year they have had no choice. Business has to tick over and the good news is that many Lebanese are taking advantage of the prices.


MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) events have taken place but in smaller numbers with fewer participants. This is a staple for the industry particularly in the spring and fall. Mark Timbrell, general manager of Gefinor Rotana, told Executive that business never ceases and that he is quietly optimistic. While travel warnings may discourage US or European business travelers, local syndicates and associations will continue to hold their conferences, meetings and seminars. Le Royal is focusing on MICE for their target market this fall. Joyce Mouwad, director of sales and marketing for Le Royal said that for 2008 the same number of conferences are still being booked.


For the future, all agreed that recovery depends on stability to gain consumer confidence and this in large part depends on a successful presidential election. Until then the sector will continue to be creative and hang on in there.

Beirut Journal
Home on Holiday, the Lebanese Say, What Turmoil?
Tamara Abdul Hadi for The New York Times


By ROBERT F. WORTH
Published: December 24, 2007

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanon may seem an unlikely holiday spot: the government has collapsed, car bombs go off periodically and foreign envoys warn of an impending civil war.

And yet, so many people have been streaming into this tiny, embattled country in recent days that the flights are all overbooked, and some well-heeled travelers are driving 18 hours from the Persian Gulf. Beirut’s restaurants, bars and malls are all packed with revelers.

Why? The answer is that the Lebanese diaspora reverses itself on holidays, as the migrants who sustain the war-shattered Lebanese economy all year return from jobs across the globe to spend time with their families. Nothing will deter them — not bad weather, not interminable flights and certainly not the Grinch-like mood of Lebanon’s endlessly feuding politicians.

“My plane was full of Lebanese flying home, and when it landed we all shouted ‘Beirut’ and clapped,” said George Elias, 23, who works for an investment firm in Japan.

He and a dozen friends — mostly Lebanese who work abroad — were in the midst of a pub crawl in Gemayze, a fashionably bohemian district. All of them wore identical white T-shirts with “Free Hug” printed across the front, and they were hugging everyone they saw, in a puckish campaign of mass affection.

“Politics is causing problems in Lebanon, so we want people to think about something else,” Mr. Elias said.

When a Lebanese Army soldier appeared on the street, the group besieged him with free hugs. He obliged with a smile, his machine gun jostling at his waist with each hug.

Across town in western Beirut, the malls were packed with glamorously dressed shoppers, and even outdoor cafes were full, despite the 50-degree chill.

“Look at all these people — there’s a political crisis, but do they care?” said Ali Hasbini, a burly 30-year-old sitting at a cafe table with three other young Lebanese overseas workers in the Verdun district. “Of course not.”

The table was a panorama of the diaspora: one of the men lived in Singapore; one in Aden, Yemen; one in Jidda, Saudi Arabia; and one in Dubai. All had come home to see the families they helped sustain.

The fact that Christmas almost coincided this year with the Muslim holiday Id al-Adha may have prompted more emigrants to return. In other ways, it is an ominous time: Lebanon has been without a president since Nov. 23, when Émile Lahoud stepped down without any agreement on a successor. Since then, Parliament has delayed voting on a new president 10 times, and negotiations have grown steadily more rancorous.

Mr. Hasbini, who works for a television and film equipment company in Jidda, waved it all aside. “We get fed up,” he said. “It’s like W.W.F. or a soap opera, except here we get it live.

“Politics? Khalas, you’re home,” he added, using the Arabic word for “enough.”

For some families, Lebanon has become little more than a reunion site.

“We’re all here for the holidays but none of us live here anymore,” said Maria Pamoukian, 28, an urban planner based in Abu Dhabi who was born in Beirut. There are 10 people in the family — seven adults and three children — she added, all now scattered across the globe, though they still maintain a big apartment here.

Like many others, Ms. Pamoukian said she struggled to find a plane ticket, and succeeded only after pleading with the airline to give her a break because a friend was getting married. They gave her a ticket to Damascus, and she drove the rest of the way, she said. The trip took 16 hours.

Tarek Masri, 26, said he had almost given up on getting a flight from Saudi Arabia, where he works, until a car bomb east of Beirut killed one of Lebanon’s top army generals last week. That prompted a cancellation, and he got his ticket home.

Beirutis like Mr. Masri are too hardened by years of civil war to be intimidated by a bombing.

“It’s usually Gulfi tourists who cancel when that happens,” he said. “It’s not the Lebanese. We’ve heard it all before, seen it all before.”

But there is a corollary to this ritual of return: much of the middle class — including many of its best and brightest — no longer live in Lebanon. The pace of emigration appears to have picked up after the violence of the 2006 war with Israel and the political crisis that has followed, said Guita Hourani, a sociologist at Notre Dame University in Zouk Mosbeh, north of Beirut, who has studied migration patterns.

The oil wealth in the gulf region has also helped lure away more young Lebanese. “It’s getting harder to find skilled people,” said Nassib Ghobril, the head of research and analysis for Byblos Bank. “Gulf companies come here and poach people from banks and other sectors. They recruit whole classes of graduating seniors.”

These migrants supply Lebanon with about $1,400 per capita every year, Mr. Ghobril said — one of the highest rates of remittances in the world. Those transfers are one of the pillars sustaining the consumer economy, he added, though they do not make up for the country’s soaring public debt, the lack of long-term investment here, or the slow bleeding of the country’s main natural resource — its people.

But there is another way of looking at it.

“Perhaps instead of talking about brain drain we should talk about brain globalization,” Mr. Ghobril said with a mischievous grin. “The globalization of Lebanon".

BEIRUT: Lebanon lost nearly $3 billion in revenue due to the sharp drop in the number of tourists in 2007, Tourism Minister Joe Sarkis said on Thursday. "We were expecting 1.6 million visitors in 2006 and the same number in 2007 and this would have generated gross revenue of nearly $3 billion a year," Sarkis told The Daily Star.

The minister blamed frequent security incidents and the political deadlock for the drop in the number of tourists.

He added that the opposition sit-in near the Grand Serail has also caused a feeling of apprehension among Arab tourists and investors.

The minister regretted the decision of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia to issue advisories to their citizens against travel to Lebanon in light of the situation.

Tourism has suffered numerous setbacks since the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri in February 2005 and the ensuing security incidents.

The year 2004 recorded the highest number of tourists traveling to Lebanon with more than 1.3 million visitors, mainly from oil-rich Gulf states.

"This is not the only problem. More than $800 million worth of investments in the tourism sector were suspended in 2007," Sarkis said.

He added that there were many plans to build hotels in Beirut and the surrounding mountains in 2006 and 2007.

Arab investors have either pulled out of Lebanon or suspended all projects until the election of a new president.

The head of the Investment Development Authority for Lebanon, Nabil Itani, has warned that Arab investors will not make any new commitments here in 2008 if the political crisis does not come to a quick end.

The minister said that Lebanon did not have the chance to catch its breath and make up for the sharp drop in the number of tourists in the past three years.

"We were also pinning high hopes in 2006 but then the war [with Israel] came in July and dashed all our aspirations," Sarkis said.


He noted that in the first six months of 2006 the number of visitors to Lebanon had exceeded expectations.

"Arab tourists who just arrived to Lebanon in July 2006 packed up their luggage in a hurry after the start of the war," Sarkis recalled.

He added that less than 1 million visitors arrived in Lebanon in 2007 and this figure was below the expectations of the Tourism Ministry.
In November and December 2007 around 100,000 tourists visited Lebanon but most of these visitors were Lebanese expatriates working in the Gulf.

"The last two months of last year saved the tourism season although most of these visitors were Lebanese who held double passports," Sarkis said.

He added that the ministry considers any arrival to the country a tourist, even if the person is a Lebanese citizen, because it is difficult to tell who is a tourist and who is not.

But the minister admitted that Lebanese expatriates usually spend their summer vacations with their families here.

"Only Arab and foreign tourists stay in hotels during their visit to Lebanon," Sarkis said.

He added that hotel occupancy fell to less than 50 percent in 2007, although a few hotels in Beirut managed to fill more than 70 percent of their rooms in the summer.

However, Sarkis said that Lebanon can still draw more tourists in 2008 even if the political deadlock remains.

"Even if we did not have a president this year, we can draw more tourists as long as there are no closure of roads or assassinations and bombings," Sariks said, adding that his ministry is planning a wide media campaign to encourage tourists to visit Lebanon.

"This country has the ability to attract 3.5 million visitors a year if our problems come to an end," Sarkis said, adding that Lebanon can't draw more visitors due to the country's limited infrastructure.

Dailystar

BEIRUT: Lebanon's political crisis has turned into an economic nightmare for the vital tourist industry, hard hit by a slump in tourists from oil-rich Gulf States who have been told to avoid the troubled country. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain, whose citizens often spend as much of their money on Lebanon's ski slopes in the winter as they do on its beaches in the summer, have advised their citizens not to travel to a country in the grip of its worst political crisis since the end of the 1975-1990 Civil War.

Riyadh - one of Lebanon's main bankrollers - went even further, recently instructing its citizens already in Lebanon to leave the country "if possible."

And Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal warned last month that the country was "on the verge of civil war."

For a tourist industry already reeling from February 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and a war with Israel in the summer 2006, such warnings are the kiss of death.

"Without tourists from the Gulf, we can't live," exclaimed Elyssar who works at a furniture store along the road that connects the capital Beirut to Bhammdoun and Aley, two villages very popular with rich Arab tourists.

"More than 50 percent of our revenue comes from them as every year they update the furniture in their Lebanese apartments," she said.

The country has been rocked by a string of attacks against anti-Syrian figures over the past three years and is riven by a protracted political crisis that has paralyzed the country and left it without a president for more than three months.

A long-running sit-in staged by the Hizbullah-led opposition in Beirut's downtown, rebuilt and renovated from the ruins of civil war, has also left the usually vibrant area deserted, forcing most of its shops and restaurants out of business.

"We can't talk about tourism anymore, it's over," lamented Pierre Ashkar, president of Lebanon's hotel owners' syndicate.

"Since Hariri's assassination in 2005 and the war in 2006, it's been nothing but a series of [assassination] attempts, fiery discourses and skirmishes. All this scares tourists away."


Tourist numbers were little more than one million in 2007, a dramatic fall to expectations of close to 1.6 million before the 2006 war with Israel.

According to the general union of Arab chambers of commerce, losses in the tourism sector over the past two and a half years have run up to $2.2 billion.

In the capital, where Saudis and Emiratis are known for their extravagant purchases, anxiety has won out.

In an upmarket boutique that sells signature bags priced between $500 and $1,000 apiece, salesgirl Cosette said sales have plunged because of a lack of customers.

In Beirut's large hotels, the number of customers has also gone down. "There have unfortunately been some cancellations by some Gulf clients," said a manager at the Bristol, once the grandest hotel in Lebanon.

Achkar said that during normal times, at least 60 percent of hotel guests come from the Gulf but that occupancy rates had dropped by half over the past two years.

"We cut prices in order to attract clients," he said.

"Thousands of people come to the country from the Gulf and we are wasting all of it," said Paul Aariss, president of the Lebanese restaurant owners syndicate. "Now we are afraid that Lebanese expatriates will decide to not come and visit the country."

The land of the cedars, as Lebanon is known, has about four million inhabitants and one of the largest diasporas in the world estimated at several million people.

"My wife, who is Lebanese, is in Canada but doesn't want to come back to the country. And why should she come in these conditions?" said Toufiq Shehayeb, a cafe owner in Aley.

Jawad, a 23-year-old bakery worker, said the latest travel advisories issued by the Gulf states were of little consequence as tourists have already deserted Lebanon. "Since the 2006 war, they haven't come. Who feels like doing tourism in a country that could become like Iraq?"

In a luxury furniture store at an upscale mall, people seem less preoccupied with the situation. "Arab princes and princesses are among our customers," said shopkeeper Randa. "They make their purchases on the Internet."

BEIRUT: The Tourism Ministry launched on Tuesday the "Food and Feast 2008" festival of Souk al-Tayyeb, which will take place in several Lebanese regions in an effort to promote local nutritional traditions. Nada Sardouk, director general of the Tourism Ministry, said the festival "is a call for all the Lebanese to come together around the traditions of Lebanese hospitality."

Souk al-Tayyeb's director, Kamal Mzawak, said this year's event includes an exhibition for local food products and a competition of "local food," in addition to entertaining activities.

"The Food and Feast festival aims to support local producers from different Lebanese regions, promote local production and encourage rural producers," he said. "It also aims to recognize the traditional Lebanese food of every region and encourage internal tourism."

Mzawak said the 2008 festival will kick off on March 29 in Mina, Tripoli, and then move to several other Lebanese regions in the North, South and the Bekaa Valley before concluding activities in December.


Mzawak added that every event organized in various Lebanese regions will be accompanied by visits to tourist sites there, "knowing that the souk works hand in hand with municipalities, regional authorities and other organizations to plan for such events and execute them."

Speaking on behalf of the Mina municipality, Nabil Katra said Souk al-Tayyeb succeeded in "proving its presence on the Lebanese tourist and development map."

"Souk al-Tayyeb could build a new environmental logic aiming at supporting human beings' safety and health," he said.

Souk al-Tayyeb is the first market for farmers in Lebanon. It has worked since its establishment in 2004 to support farmers and producers. It includes more than 45 cultivators and cooperatives and seeks to find new markets in different Lebanese regions. - The Daily Star

^^Isn't it the souk made in Saifi Village every sunday of summers??

Source: http://albaladonline.com/html/story.php?sid=13791
تحسّن حركة الوافدين في شباط 2008

صدى البلد

بلغ عدد الوافدين الى لبنان في شهر شباط، 2008 52 الفا و413 زائراً بزيادة 5157 زائراً عن شباط 2007 واحتل العرب المركز الاول بنسبة، 33.87% تلاهم الاوروبيون.

جاﺀ في نشرة القراﺀة الرقمية لشهر شباط الــصــادرة عن وزارة السياحة وفيها أن الوافدين العرب احتلوا المرتبة الاولــى حيث بلغ عددهم 17.707 زوار.

وقــد تــوزع الــوافــدون بحسب الجنسيات كالآتي: ¶الاردنيون 5619 زائرا بنسبة نحو 32 في المئة من مجمل الزوار العرب.

السعوديون 2835 زائرا اي بنسبة و16نح في المئة من مجمل الزوار العرب.

العراقيون 2529 زائـــرا اي بنسبة نحو 14 في المئة من مجمل الزوار العرب.

يليهم فــي المرتبة الثانية الـــوافـــدون الاوروبـــيـــون 16587 سائحا.

الفرنسيون 4956 زائــرا اي بنسبة 30 في المئة من مجمل الزوار الاوروبيين.

البريطانيون 1999 زائــرا اي بنسبة 12 في المئة من مجمل الزوار الاوروبيين.



الالمان 1828 زائرا اي بنسبة 11 فــي المئة مــن مجمل الـــزوار الاوروبيين.

الايطاليون 1555 زائــرا اي بنسبة 10 في المئة من مجمل الزوار الاوروبيين.

وبالمقارنة بين شباط 2007 ـ، 2008 يتبين الآتي: عدد الوافدين في شهر شباط: 2007 47256 زائرا.

عدد الوافدين في شهر شباط: 2008 52413 زائرا.

المجموع العام للشهرين الاول والثاني 2007--2006 العام: 2006 156616 زائرا.

العام: 2007 100316 زائرا.

العام: 2008 115400 زائر.

اي بتراجع، 31 26 في المئة عن سنة، 2006 وبتقدم، 04 15 في المئة عن سنة 2007.

والملاحظ في الشهرين الاول والثاني من 2008 ان الوافدين الــعــرب حلوا فــي المرتبة الاولــى وقــد بلغ عــددهــم 41928 زائــرا اي بنسبة نحو 36 في المئة من مجمل الزوار.

كما حل في المرتبة الثانية الاوروبيون 33209 زوار اي بنسبة نــحــو 29 فــي الــمــئــة مــن مجمل الزوار.

بلغ عدد الوافدين العرب في الشهرين الاولين من العام 2007 ما مجموعه 39999 زائراً والاوروبيين 28992 زائرا.

Translation (not detailed)

- the number of visitors to leb was 52,413, up 5,157 from the same month in 2007
- arabs constituted 17,797 of them
5619 jordanians
2835 saudis
2529 iraqis
europeans: 16,587
4956 french
1999 brits
1828 germans
1555 italians
and then a bunch of stats that aren't really all that interesting and pretty much say the same thing .. that more people came in

I wounder how many Australians go to Lebanon ( not including Lebanese-Australians)

BEIRUT: "Lebanon is the safest country in the world," Tourism Minister Joseph Sarkis told a news conference here Monday as he urged Arab states to lift restrictions and travel warnings placed on Lebanon. Sarkis announced that he will soon tour the Arab world in order to make the case for lifting restrictions, adding that "the Lebanese still look forward to hosting their Arab neighbors in the manner that we have all become accustomed to."

Tourism in Lebanon dominated the conference, with Sarkis repeatedly stressing the unique cultural, historical, environmental and entertainment attractions that set Lebanon apart from the rest of the region.

During the conference, Sarkis also addressed the closure of 16 pubs and restaurants in the Gemmayzeh area by the Tourism Ministry earlier this month.

Sarkis said the decision to shut down these "touristic establishments" occurred after Gemmayzeh area business owners were cautioned time and again to accommodate some of the demands made by local residents to "reduce street noise, lower sound levels, and monitor the actions of valet services" operating in the area.

The tourism minister explained that although the situation in Gemmayzeh was initially under control after a rise in investment in 2005, the government began receiving complaints from local residents as "the entertainment sector completely took off in this historic district and residential area."

Sarkis then attributed the Tourism Ministry's reluctance to act quickly to the "poor economic situation in the country - made worse by the summer 2006 war with Israel and the ensuing political crisis - that led us to play it slow with regard to restrictions on business activity."


The minister said that several warnings were issued to businesses operating in the area, but that these were heeded by only a few owners. Sarkis explained that a protest by local residents, during which "we saw residents out in their nightgowns and pajamas demonstrating against excess disturbances" made it impossible for the ministry to continue to look the other way.

"Establishments lacking proper paperwork - nine businesses did not have either a license or even a licensing request filed at the ministry - were shut down immediately, as were establishments disregarding the warnings issued by the ministry earlier," added Sarkis.

It appears that most owners affected by the decision have already agreed to submit agreements to restrict noise levels and monitor areas near their businesses in order to reduce commotion in the area, which would be enough to reopen already licensed businesses.

But Sarkis noted that restaurants and pubs operating without a license would have to formally submit a licensing request to the ministry, in order to allow the government to evaluate whether these businesses meet required standards of operation.

"These procedures are meant to minimize the disturbances in the Gemmayzeh area," added Sarkis. "Part of Lebanon's attraction is the unique lifestyle in this region, which is why we understand where the owners are coming from and hope to [find a middle way]."

BEIRUT: Lebanon's tourism sector was dealt another setback after the opposition closed all roads leading to Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport, Tourism Minister Joe Sarkis said on Wednesday. "We are missing a lot of opportunities to attract tourists to Lebanon. First Israel ruined the tourism season when it attacked Lebanon in July 2006 and now Hizbullah has spoiled all our plans to bring in visitors," Sarkis told The Daily Star in an interview.

"Thousands of Arab tourists cancelled plans to visit Lebanon even before the closure of the airport. It seems that many of them felt that the situation would deteriorate sooner or later," Sarkis said.

Nearly all airlines suspended direct flights to Beirut after the closure of roads leading to the airport.

The Tourism Ministry had expected that more than 1 million tourists would visit Lebanon this summer. Officials had traveled to several Arab countries to promote tourism and ease the fears of potential tourists.

"I visited five Arab countries a few months ago to promote tourism. But I was surprised that some of these countries were quite concerned about the political and security developments in Lebanon," Sarkis said.

He said tourism can generate more than $2 billion each year, adding that this could help to achieve growth and improve the balance of payments.

"I tried to alleviate the fears of the Arab officials and assured them that the news about Lebanon is highly exaggerated but to no avail," Sarkis said.

He said it was difficult to calculate the losses in the tourism sector over the past five days.

"In general the economic losses, including tourism, is close to $350 million in the first five days and this may go higher if there is no breakthrough in the situation," Sarkis said.

Most luxury hotels in the capital reported that room occupancy fell below 35 percent after the fighting started in Beirut.


But Sarkis said he is still pinning hopes on the Lebanese expatriates who customarily spend their summer vacations with their families here.

In the summer of 2007, more than 80,000 Lebanese expatriates visited Lebanon. But the ministry said that the number of Arab tourists last year was far below normal levels.

Sarkis and many tour operators argue that tourism should be treated as one of the main pillars of the economy.

"If the Arab League succeeds in persuading the rival politicians to start talks in Qatar then the tourism season can be saved," he said.

But Sarkis said that it would not enough to open the airport road to encourage tourists to come to Lebanon.

"I don't see the meaning of the opposition sit-in near the Grand Serail. This behavior is also scaring away tourists and hurting the business in this sensitive commercial area," he said.

The opposition started a sit-in 18 months ago in the Beirut Central District to pressure the ruling coalition to accept a national unity government.

"I can't understand the motives behind the closure of the airport roads. All Lebanese use this airport," Sarkis said.

He stressed that all regions would reap huge benefits from a good tourism season in Lebanon. "I am counting on the Lebanese expatriates to pack up their stuff and come to Lebanon once this dilemma is over," Sarkis said.

He added that Lebanon would have its best tourism season once a president is elected a new Cabinet is formed. "I hope that all factions, including the opposition, grasp the importance of tourism. Tourism will also encourage foreign investors to build more hotels in Beirut and the mountains," he said.

I want to visit Beirut in August, but I have no idea what's happening right now regarding this airport/opposition problem. Can anyone update, please?

There's no direct flight from any Croatian airport to Beirut... They all fly via Paris or Amsterdam or Munich and so on :bash:

^^The airport is now open , everything is back to normal.Hopefully the political problem will be solved soon.

Does Lebanon get many visitors from India/Pakistan?

^^ I don't think so

Does Lebanon get many visitors from India/Pakistan?

There are some few Indian workers here , for instance my school's gardener is Indian , so cute, so friendly :D

^^ I don't think so

That's a shame....the photos I've seen are amazing, they're missing out.

I hope to visit myself one day, once the situation returns to normal.

Vive la Liban! :)

^^ U r most Welcome :)

i came across some israeli tourism statistics and realized how stupid our government is. israel receives some 2.5 million tourists every year, and that is growing steadily year by year. our economy relies heavily on the tourist sector and although one would think we're doing what we can to draw in the tourists, its a shame that the borders between lebanon and israel are closed. by closing the borders and not allowing people with israeli-stamped passports to cross into our country, we're virtually closing the border to a huge potential market. i mean the israeli population alone is well over 7/8 million, if just a small portion of those visit our country, this industry can flourish. and thats not to mention the 2.5 tourists that visit israel annually, whom will most probably visit lebanon as well if they were able to.
its just sad that our government is so fecking childish and narrow minded.

^^ we need to have a REAL state before that hehe
still i share ur point of view !! we need peace...

Palestine, Jordan , Lebanon, and Syria..used to co-market holy land tours...they were promited by MEA ...I have a brochure.

^^ can you scan please? I never even knew that

ill try to

Beirut - 750 thousand Lebanese from the four corners of the earth plan to come to Lebanon after the Doha accord was announced ending the Lebanese political crises , The Lebanese ministry of tourism has announced

The Ministry reported a "hysteria in hotel and flight bookings" by Lebanese , Arab and European nationals

The expected summer economic boom was reflected at the Beirut stock exchange. The shares surged on Wednesday and Thursday . The volume of trading was very high too... Over $58 million in share values changed hands on Thursday only. The market was also fueled by the announcement of 3 investment projects exceeding one billion and 650 million dollars.


The Director General of the Ministry of Tourism, Nada Al-Sardouk said " thousands of communications were received by the Ministry of Tourism from Lebanese expatriates as soon as the Doha agreement was announced, expressing their joy and satisfaction. Most of the callers she said " were giving up on Lebanon and were planning to spend their vacations elsewhere "


The Syndicate of Owners of tourism agencies and travel in Lebanon Jean Abboud said that bookings rose sharply since the announcement of the Doha agreement . He said the flights to Beirut are now completely full until end of July , but the Lebanese and Arab Airlines agreed to increase the frequency of the flights to and from Beirut

Ms. Nora Jumblatt Chairperson of the Beiteddine ( Pictured right is Beiteddine Palace) Festivals Committee plans to announce the program of international festivals for this summer according to Ms. Sardouk

Ms Sardouk said the ministry is preparing a calendar of international festivals in Byblos , Baalbeck , Tyre, Tripoli, Zahle and other areas

Ms Sardouk also said that many officials from the Arab countries that issued travel advisories against travel to Lebanon have been calling their counterparts in th summer resort town of Aley , Bhamdoun, Sofar, Brummana and Barouk and many other resort areas to assure them that many of their nationals are planning to come and spend their summer holidays in Lebanon

According to Ms Sardouk , 2008 could turn out to be like 2004 when a record number of tourists visited Lebanon

As many as 15 million people of Lebanese origin live outside Lebanon. Brazil alone accounts for 8 million Lebanese Brazilians , which is twice the number of Lebanese that live in Lebanon

^^ EXCELLENT NEWS !!!

Definitely gr8 news,also occupancy in Beirut's Hotel rose from 5-7% the day b4 Doha agreement was announced to 40% the next day :) This is CRAZY !!!!!!!!!

Another awesome summer and im not there :(
I hate to be a pessimist, but does anyone else think this is too good to be true? will it last?

^^ :lol: Typically Lebanese :D

Nchalla it will last , koz nothing says it won't ,at least in the near future :)

nope wont last...hezb still have their weapons (aka: planing to use them some time in the future)...but for now lets enjoy!

^^Not Really,koz there will be serious discussions about the Arms,it's not as easy as it used to be for them.Let's wait and see what Sleiman is capable of doing.

I share John and Dayana's point of view, i think it's good news for the near future but at the long term.......

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Just a week after feuding Lebanese leaders sealed a political deal to end 18 months of conflict, restaurants have re-opened, hotel bookings have soared and tourists have replaced gunmen on the streets of Beirut.

"The deal has had an excellent impact. We've had a flood of reservations and we're expecting a very good season," said Nizar Alouf, a member of the Lebanese Hotel Owners Association.

It took months of agonizing negotiations -- punctuated by bouts of violence that many feared would trigger civil war -- to install a new president and form a government, but record time for Lebanon to regain its standing as a top tourist spot.

Now where an opposition tent city occupied large squares, paralyzing central Beirut and turning it into a ghost town, restaurants are bustling, open-air concerts are being held and gridlock traffic is back.

"It's good to be back" and "It finally feels like people are living" are common utterances among the droves of Lebanese and tourists crowding the Parisian-style pavement cafes.

Tourism Minister Joseph Sarkis said he expected between 1.3 million to 1.6 million visitors to Lebanon this year compared to around 1 million in 2007 and 2006 -- violent years plagued by political assassinations, bombings and a war with Israel.

"After the (presidential) election, things are much better regarding tourism activity this summer ... which is due to the stability in the coming time," Sarkis told Reuters on Wednesday.

President Michel Suleiman was elected on Sunday after the seat remained vacant since November, as part of a political crisis between the U.S.-backed government and the opposition, led by Syrian- and Iranian-backed Hezbollah.

Suleiman's election was part of a package deal agreed upon by the bitter rivals in Doha, leading the opposition to remove its encampment in central Beirut after it was guaranteed veto power in the new government.

GULF TOURISTS

Tourism accounted for about a fifth of Lebanon's gross domestic product before the industry was destroyed by the 1975-90 civil war. Industry experts say the sector could grow to form up to 12 percent of the economy were Lebanon to enjoy a protracted period of calm.

While Lebanese are cautious about whether the new political agreement will last for long, tourists are thronging to the country, judging by hotel bookings and airplane reservations.

"Reservations have picked up very fast ... once we had the deal we covered our loss of 10 percent and gained 20 percent of bookings in flights to Lebanon," said Nizar Khoury, head of commercial at Lebanon's flagship Middle East Airlines.

Khoury said he expected a 20 percent increase in passengers to Lebanon from last year's 450,000 to 500,000.

"The reservations are picking up day by day, so it could even be 30 to 40 percent up," he told Reuters. "There was some hesitation from Europe and North America, but now we're seeing a lot of reservations from (there)."

Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, whose citizens make up the bulk of Lebanon's tourists, had urged their nationals to refrain from traveling to the liberal Mediterranean country at the height of the crisis.

But Khoury said airplane reservations from those countries were picking up fast too.

Lebanon, whose economy is expected to grow more than 3 percent this year because of the deal, is one of the most popular destinations in the Middle East for Arabs seeking its relaxed atmosphere, sandy beaches and mild weather.

"As of today, we've seen a 30 percent increase in hotel bookings from 2007 and we expect that this will increase day by day," said the Lebanese Hotel Owners Association's Alouf who is also the general manager of the Hotel Riviera in Beirut.

Festivals of performing arts such as the famed Beiteddine festival are also due to be held this summer, having faced repeated cancellations in recent years.

In the meantime downtown Beirut is regenerating its image as a smart area rebuilt from civil war ruins by slain former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.

Bilal Daya, supervisor of Kiub's restaurant in central Beirut, had like many other central Beirut cafes, tried to stay open a few months into the protest before eventually closing.

"We used to get two or three tables a day, now it's always crowded," he said. "At night there's no place to sit, you have to wait

i'm so excited about this tourist season
i hope we will be able to make up the losses of the past few years
cuz this sector has been suffering alot

^^ interesting nickname

Lebanon's tourism phoenix rises again

BEIRUT - For three consecutive seasons tourism revenue, once Lebanon's lifeblood, was reduced to a trickle by violence and political uncertainty.

In 2006 it was the Hezbollah-Israel war, in 2007 it was the struggle against Fatah al-Islam militants in the north, and this year internal sectarian clashes dragged Lebanon to the brink of a new civil war. But now it is receiving a much-needed transfusion.

Reservations have begun pouring into this land of sun, sea and mountains, and a bumper tourism season is predicted after years of instability.

There was a collective sigh of relief as calm returned last week after Lebanese leaders came to an agreement in Qatar that ended a long-running political crisis.

"The ink on the Doha agreement wasn't dry yet and the phones were ringing off the hook. From the Gulf, from Europe, from everywhere, we're booked up until the end of the summer," said Mary Shwairy, head of public relations at the upscale Phoenicia Hotel in Beirut.

http://www.tayyar.org/NR/rdonlyres/97D7D7BA-9B53-4609-BC60-744EAFCA4B8D/14235/128566164107324447.jpg

"Tourism is bouncing back in a big way -- short stays, long stays, conferences, weddings of returning Lebanese who live abroad," she added.

Caretaker Tourism Minister Joseph Sarkis said he expects this year's figures to be the best for years.

"By the end of April we had only received 280,000 visitors because of the security situation. Now we expect between 1.3 and 1.6 million -- the same projected figure for summer 2006 which had seemed to be the most promising," he told AFP.

"In 2006, about 4.4 billion US dollars in tourism revenue was projected. Only about 1.5 billion came in," Sarkis added.

That summer's tourism prospects were shattered by Israel's 34-day war in July and August -- prime holiday months -- against the Shiite Hezbollah movement in Lebanon.

The vicious conflict between the army and Islamist militants in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared north of the country's second city of Tripoli killed tourism in 2007.

That added to a prolonged political crisis between the ruling bloc and the opposition, and culminated in clashes that erupted on May 7 this year, leaving 65 people dead and much of mostly Muslim west Beirut in Hezbollah hands.

It could have been the final straw for tourism.

But the May 21 agreement in Qatar restored calm. It led to the election of Michel Sleiman as president, a post that had been vacant for more than five months because of political squabbling.

It also saw the lifting of an opposition sit-in that had throttled business life in central Beirut for a year and a half.

Since the Doha agreement there has been "a 30 percent increase in the number of expected tourists compared with last year. Hotels are hiring extra staff and the airlines are adding extra flights," Sarkis said.

"Forty percent of the tourists are Arab, 25 percent are European and the rest are of various nationalities," he added.

"Of the Arabs, 40 percent are Jordanian who come in large numbers since visa requirements were waived three years ago. They are followed by Saudis, Kuwaitis, Iraqis and Emiratis," he said.

Sarkis said Lebanese expatriates spend large sums of money when they return to the homeland.
http://www.tayyar.org/NR/rdonlyres/97D7D7BA-9B53-4609-BC60-744EAFCA4B8D/14233/capta048e04fa5904a5aabf174ff71ebc7a2mideast_lebano.jpg

"Nature and a love of life are Lebanon's greatest attractions. The Arabs come for the refreshing climate, night clubs and restaurants... Europeans for the archaeological sites" such as Baalbek or Tyre.

In another sign of recovery kicking in, the popular Beiteddine and Baalbek music festivals, silenced for the past two summers, will return this year in July.

The Beiteddine and Baalbek festival organisers are also co-sponsoring a concert by Lebanese-born pop sensation Mika in Beirut on July 27.

Popular summer destinations in Lebanon include the mountain towns of Aley, Bhamdun, Brummana and Beit Mery. In winter the ski resorts of Faraya and Faqra are thronged with visitors.

Aley, which saw heavy fighting in early May, is now preparing to double its population over the tourism season.

"Restaurants and cafes that were closed for two years have reopened in record time over the last few days," municipal official Essam Ebeid told AFP.

"Aley gets as many tourists as its 40,000 inhabitants -- mostly Qataris, Saudis and Kuwaitis," he said. "But the season will actually be longer than the three summer months because many Arabs and expatriates own homes here."

Ebeid cited property prices as an indication of the return rush of visitors. "Prices have soared by about a third since the Doha agreement," he said. Before the accord was reached "we were expecting fighters armed to the teeth, but fortunately now we welcome tourists with flowers."

I DON'T BELIEVE THIS :eek: !!!!!!!!!

http://www.kuwait-airways.com/Data/Site1/images/Beirut_En.jpg

how much is 76 KD?

$286.00 or $71.50 per night for 2 people

^^The Package includes the Airline Ticket :S

^^ that's sick and wrong and totally unfair!!!
I would need a whole month's salary just to pay for the ticket :ohno::ohno::ohno:
besides, I thought the incoming flights were full?

HASSOUN: what dont you believe? is it too expensive? too cheap? or are you surprised there's a promotional offer to beirut (probably one of the few since the 1975)!!!!

^^
I would need a whole month's salary just to pay for the ticket

do you work in beirut or tampa?

HASSOUN: what dont you believe? is it too expensive? too cheap? or are you surprised there's a promotional offer to beirut (probably one of the few since the 1975)!!!!

It's Too cheap :eek:

I thought the incoming flights were full?

That's one of the reasons Actually why it's Full :)

I would love to see a promotion for Lebanon in Australia... that wont happen in a long time... Australians are still advised to NOT VISIT LEBANON.

Amid Stability, Saudis Are Heading Back to Lebanon
Najah Alosaimi, Arab News

RIYADH, 31 May 2008 — Saudis are returning back to one of their top tourism destinations: Lebanon.

According to local travel agents, flight reservations are up for the Saudi summer vacation season after numbers fell dramatically following the July War of 2006 that sent many Saudis scrambling for evacuation.

Saudis make up the largest tourist segment in Lebanon, estimated at 30 percent of Arab tourists; many own summer homes in Lebanon.

Nasir Al-Tayyar, manager of Al-Tayyar travel agency, said that thousands of Saudi tourists have re-scheduled their summer plans.

“During the tense security situation, our offices received requests by tourists looking for alternative countries, particularly to Europe and Southeast Asia, and many had already booked to fly to these destinations,” he said.

But the return to political stability, especially following the election of a new Lebanese president, made many of Al-Tayyar’s customers cancel plans to alternative destinations.

Lebanese nationals working in Saudi Arabia are among the travelers flocking back to visit family and friends after signs of stability, Al-Tayyar said.

“Also hundreds of Saudi businessmen have gone to Lebanon to check on their properties,” he added.

Mohaideb Al-Mohaideb, director of Al-Sarh Tourism Group, also sees the stability as a boost to summer 2008 tourism traffic.

“Lebanon, or as many people like to call it ‘the Monte Carlo of the East’, has special status among Saudis whose like to enjoy a Mediterranean climate in a country that speaks their language,” he said.

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=8055905&ch=4226714&src=news

^^ i loved the CNN Report !!!!!

MEA advert

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g240/Jamie_Y/n597554090_639555_7350.jpg

can someone translate that please ?

^^

MEA To Resume Flights To/From Doha Starting June 11 2008.
Enjoy the Luxury of Travel on our planes and Take Advantage of our Cedar Miles Program.For More information please Contact ur Travel Agent or MEA at 1330 or 01-629999

http://www.zawya.com/video/default.cfm/default.cfm/default.cfm/default.cfm/default.cfm/default.cfm/default.cfm/default.cfm/default.cfm/default.cfm/sidVID20080528102028

May 28th report

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=8055905&ch=4226714&src=news

It looks like the window's fixed

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/1486/beiwingc2.png

http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/7981/dsc05065he3.jpg

how do u do that lol..You guys are computer whizs LOL

^^ lol it's called a screen capture and a lot of third party programs allow you to do it... and it's a feature built into macs (hold down apple-shift-4 and set the frame)

for still frames on windows
http://www.download.com/Screen-Print-Capture-32/3000-2384_4-10135610.html?tag=lst-1&cdlPid=10188787

for videos or to record screen activity on windows
http://www.download.com/Easy-Screen-Capture-Video/3000-13633_4-10288385.html?tag=lst-2&cdlPid=10288386

^^ walaaaaaaaw min macs? lol try the "print screen" button :lol:

http://www.nowlebanon.com/Library/Images/MainPagePictures/Ex-DT-2%20eng.jpg

Tourists from the Arab Gulf stroll near the House of Parliament in Beirut. (NOW Lebanon exclusive)

Resilient Beirut welcomes back tourists

http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2008/06/05/tourists%20flock%20to%20beirut.jpg
By Farnaz Fassihi
Beirut, Lebanon - Just weeks after squabbling political parties defused Lebanon's worst internal fighting since 1990, its capital, long a favored destination for the Arab party set, is enjoying a sudden, remarkable comeback.

Hotel occupancy in Beirut tops 60%, compared to a mere 10% last week, and is climbing daily. Flights into Beirut, from any European or regional city, are fully booked until the middle of August, according to a travel agent.

Most car-rental agencies are fully booked and have stopped taking reservations for the next two months. Restaurants in the downtown area, which was blockaded by Hezbollah militiamen with thick beards and walkie-talkies until last week, are now open 18 hours a day, catering to locals and tourists.

New Mastercard billboards around the city show a bikini-clad woman shimmying under a disco ball, with the slogan: 'Living it up in Beirut. Priceless."

Residents are keenly aware that a setback could come at any moment, with another car bomb or political assassination. But the tourism ministry is now hoping for 1.6 million visitors this summer -- which would bring in tens of millions of dollars in revenue.

"This is a crazy country. This is Lebanon," says Charles Asmar, the 50-year-old manager of well-known downtown restaurant Place de l'Etoile, where business has picked up more than 150% in one week. The restaurant has expanded its staff to keep up.

The troubles of the past few summers here almost killed the tourism industry. They began with the Hezbollah-Israel war that started in July 2006, followed by a long internal political battle between the Western-backed government and the opposition, including the Shiite Islamist group Hezbollah. Hezbollah blockaded the popular downtown area with tents and barbed wires, forcing businesses to shut down or drastically cut back hours.

At the start of last summer, a string of car bombs targeted popular shopping areas as the army fought an al-Qaeda-inspired militant group in the Nahr el-Bared Palestinian camp in Tripoli. Inbound visitors canceled flights and hotel bookings.

Last month, militiamen and snipers on both sides fought in the streets with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, forcing residents to evacuate many neighborhoods. Fighting ended when the two sides agreed to elevate a compromise candidate as president, filling an office that had been vacant since November. Michel Suleiman took office May 25.

Lebanon has long beat out other regional tourist centers, including safe and stable Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Dubai has glitzy malls, combed beaches and an indoor ski slope. But Lebanon's moderate climate means good weather when many other Middle East cities are sweltering. It has beaches, mountains, lemon and olive groves, and vibrant nightlife with rooftop bars, beach parties and concerts. Lebanon is more open than other Arab countries, where local women dress conservatively and alcohol is banned or, as in Dubai, limited to hotels.

"It's the best of all worlds. Beirut looks like the south of France except everyone speaks Arabic and it costs 10 times less," says Saleh Ibrahim, a 41-year-old businessman from Saudi Arabia who arrived for a two-week vacation this week.

In the lobby of the Phonecia Intercontinental Hotel, with its palace-size crystal chandeliers and ballroom staircase, guests arrived this week from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, rolling carry-on luggage and sporting designer sunglasses.

Kafah and Abdul Rahman Al-Osaimi, a Kuwaiti couple in their 40s, cut their trip to Istanbul short and flew to Beirut on the same Sunday that President Michel Suleiman was sworn into office.

"Because we love Lebanon very, very much," said Ms. Al-Osaimi, wearing a long dress that reached her toes and a colorful scarf covering her head. "I told my husband I don't want to waste a single day, let's go to Beirut."

A “hot summer” after all Lebanon’s tourism sector shows signs of blooming
Benjamin Ryan, NOW Staff , June 9, 2008


Beirut's nightlife kicked off with renewed vigor in Gemmayzeh this month, as signs point to a "hot summer" for the tourism sector. (AFP/Ousama Ayoub)
At the end of last week, joint Arab event production company Exicon, in cooperation with the Investment Development Authority of Lebanon, announced it was organizing a conference called “The Return to Lebanon” at the Phoenicia Intercontinental next month to highlight the rebirth of Lebanon’s tourism sector after several years of lackluster performance. Now that a political agreement appears to have been snatched from the jaws of civil war, Beirut’s nightlife, restaurants and beaches are humming with anticipation of a bumper season.

Thomas Schellen, an editor with Zawya, remarked, “Since our office here is in downtown, we have been facing the misery of being under paralysis for 18 months. Since [the opposition sit-in was dismantled on May 21], every day more people are coming to downtown, and there is more optimism by the retailers.” Shops in downtown, long shuttered, are now springing open.

Beirut’s party season has already kicked off. President Michel Sleiman’s swearing in ceremony was followed by days of concerts in downtown headlined by the likes of Haifa Wehbe, Nancy Ajram, Massari and Majida al-Roumi, and the major annual music festivals in Beiteddine and Baalbek are back on track after two years of hiatus.

The streets of Gemmayzeh, both a residential neighborhood and heavy nightlife area, have also seen a surge since Doha. Nada Omeira, a Gemmayzeh resident, said, “Until now it's been the people who refused to stay at home who were going out. Now, it’s everybody.”

A long, hard slog

Tourism, which employs around one-third of the Lebanese workforce, has been brutalized over the past couple years. The campaign of car bombs and assassinations beginning in October of 2004 sent early chills through Lebanon’s social psyche, and the July War of 2006 killed what was projected to have been a record year for the industry.

The tentative hopes that followed its resolution in August were subsequently crushed late that fall as opposition protesters set up an 18-month sit-in around the downtown district in an attempt to topple the government, effectively paralyzing the city center. Continuing tensions and political assassinations, coupled with the fierce campaign between the army and Fatah al-Islam militants in the northern Palestinian camp of Nahr al-Bared last summer, has kept Lebanon off of most people’s itineraries until now.

Lebanon’s woes were only worsening leading up to the Doha Agreement. According to Bank Audi’s “Lebanon Weekly Monitor” report on June 3, Beirut’s international airport reported a higher net outflow of passengers in the first four months of 2008 compared to last year, indicating an increase in emigration. Even transiting passengers avoided Beirut’s airport to make connections elsewhere; transit flights in 2008 have seen a 41% decrease compared to 2007.

A thousand bookings bloom

Post-Doha, all indicators point to a big turnaround in those statistics, however. Just one month after Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries were evacuating their embassies and warning their citizens to avoid travel to Lebanon, there are now waiting lists for flights to Beirut. Those who haven’t already booked flights to Beirut for the summer may find the asking price to be a lot steeper than expected.

Mazen Hajjar, owner of local pub and microbrewery 961 Beer, told NOW Lebanon, “It's not hard to get a flight to Beirut, it's impossible! One of my partners is flying from Copenhagen in June, and the best ticket he could find was $3,000, economy class. My other partner is in San Francisco, and he can't even get an economy class ticket back for July, only business class!”

The high demand is being driven by summer Gulf tourists who would normally flock to Lebanon’s beaches for the mild weather and more permissive social atmosphere, but also by expatriate Lebanese eager to return to, or at least visit, their troubled country now that the waters appear to have calmed.

Outgoing Tourism Minister Joseph Sarkis, who in February was lamenting the loss of $3.5 billion tourist dollars annually since 2005, now expects around 1.5 million tourists this year, bringing in $4.4 billion dollars in revenue. Jean Abboud, head of the Union of Tourism Agencies was more cautious, predicting somewhere between 600,000 and 700,000 visitors this summer.

Cautious optimism

The excited pronouncements of a bumper summer tourist crop could still be premature. Hajjar cautioned, “Before the tourists start arriving, let's not count our chickens, right?”

Political problems linger in Beirut’s streets and Lebanon’s hinterlands, left over from the passions stoked by the violence in early May. Sporadic clashes are still occurring, despite some efforts to smooth things over. Militant groups like Fatah al-Islam and Jund al-Sham have also reared their heads of late.

Still, most are looking on the coming summer with a fair amount of optimism. Schellen said, “Hospitality is the most optimistic sector, especially with downtown and the tourist areas. Vulnerabilities remain there of course, but if trends develop as they are now, people will have a very good summer.”

KAC Beirut Office set to serve thousands of Kuwaiti tourists

By Omar Al-Halabi (With photo)

BEIRUT, June 9 (KUNA) -- Kuwait Airways Corporation is set to serve the many thousands of Kuwaiti tourists customarily seen seeking to flock to Beirut this time of year, and the current one flight is to become three flights per day as the summer vacation season peaks.

Head of KAC Beirut Office Qais Al-Shatti told KUNA the office kept managing urgent business throughout the recent protests, but only resumed full operation after the end of the opposition protests in nearby Riad El-Solh Square with the reaching of the Doha Accord.

Al-Shatti said May was a very difficult month, with Beirut Airport closed, but KAC is now ready to re-open its office in Bhamdoun as well, to serve the Mount Lebanon region.

"Kuwait-Lebanon bookings are 100 percent, which indicates Kuwaitis are again looking forward to a summer in Lebanon," he said.

He said he expects as much as 50,000 Kuwaiti tourists to Lebanon this year, and this is to be added to Lebanese nationals flying home for the holiday. The number of passengers flying from Kuwait to Lebanon is expected around a daily 1,500 for the next two months.

The Lebanese Ministry of Tourism meanwhile forecast over 1.3 million tourists visiting the state by end of 2008.

1500 كويتي يصلون يومياً إلى لبنان

بدأ موسم الصيف هذا العام أكبر وأكثر ازدحاماً وإقبالاً على السفر، سواء كان بغرض السياحة أو زيارة الأهل، وحظي لبنان بنصيب الأسد من الوجهة السياحية للكويتيين، وأعلن مدير مكتب الخطوط الجوية الكويتية في بيروت قيس الشطي عن إقبال كثيف في قدوم السياح الكويتيين إلى لبنان، متوقعا أن يصل عدد الكويتيين المتجهين يوميا إلى لبنان لنحو 1500 شخص خلال الشهرين المقبلين. وذلك من خلال عدد الحجوزات من الكويت إلى بيروت، والتي تبشّر بوصول عشرات آلاف السياح.

وقال الشطي إن الحجوزات من الكويت إلى لبنان بلغت 100 %، وهذا ما يبشّر بموسم سياحي واعد في لبنان، ويدل على رغبة الكويتيين في قضاء فترة إجازاتهم في الربوع اللبنانية.مذكراً أن الخطوط الجوية الكويتية تسيّر رحلة واحدة من الكويت إلى بيروت في الوقت الراهن، مؤكدا أن عدد الرحلات سيصل إلى ثلاث أو أربع رحلات يوميا خلال الشهر المقبل، نظرا الى كثافة الحجوزات.

وتوقّع الشطي وصول نحو 40 ألى 50 ألف كويتي إلى لبنان خلال العام الحالي عن طريق الجو، بالإضافة إلى اللبنانيين الذين يرغبون في تمضية إجازاتهم في بلدهم.

:::

^^

It says that 1500 Kuwaitis arrive to Lebanon everyday :)

Lebanon woos tourists

11 June 2008

KUWAIT: As the political situation in Lebanon is getting better and more stable, tourism in Lebanon is improving. Lebanon is now promoting tourism in their country and on this occasion, the ARA Research and Consultancy Co. held a press conference to announce the 'Bhebak Ya Lubnan 2008' festival yesterday at the Arraya Ballroom at the Marriott Courtyard.

This festival is held under the auspices of renowned businessman Nasser Al-Kharafi and is sponsored by various companies. After the number of tourists to Lebanon dropped dramatically, officials realized that they should promote Lebanon to encourage tourism once again. Their goal is to influence people to choose Lebanon as their summer destination.

Life in Lebanon became different after tourists left. The streets, the airport, and other places became different. Tourism is a basic part of Lebanon and we need to return it to the situation we have been used to," said Tareq Ammar, GM of ARA Research and Consultancy Co. during the press conference.

The 'Bhebak Ya Lubnan 2008' festival is a voluntary media campaign. "ARA founded this festival last year to activate the tourism industry in Lebanon after the July attacks in 2006 and the crisis that followed this. Tourism is one of the main sources of living in Lebanon and we aim to preserve the picture of Lebanon in the minds of the people," he added.

This year brings more optimism for the Lebanese people. "The festival this year aims to attract the biggest number of people not only to visit Lebanon for only a short period of time, but to spend the whole summer vacation there. We hope that this year, Lebanon will once again become the number one Arab tourist destination, especially for Kuwaitis and GCC citizens," Ammar pointed out.

Middle East Airlines (MEA), the national carrier of Lebanon, has prepared for the summer season with increased number of flights to Lebanon. "We have increased the number of flights to two flights daily from Kuwait to Lebanon and vice versa starting from June 12. Our airbuses can carry 400 passengers daily and our sales have increased by 35 percent within only 48 hours after the Doha Agreement. We hope that it will increase even more this summer," noted Simon Fakhouri, Regional Manager of MEA.

The campaign last year attracted mostly Lebanese citizens residing in Kuwait. "We received great feedback from the Lebanese community in Kuwait who spent their summer vacation in Lebanon. They thanked us for the campaign which encouraged them to visit Lebanon," highlighted Ammar.

Kuwaitis and other GCC citizens were also a great help in rebuilding the tourist sector of Lebanon. "Nasser Al-Kharafi is one of these people supporting Lebanon and he has honored us by sponsoring this festival. He financed the rebuilding of Rafeeq Al-Hareeri Airport in Bahamdoon and thanks to the support we received from the sponsoring companies this year, the festival will be two weeks long, from today until June 24. Besides the companies sponsoring this festival, I would like to thank the media as well
for their supportive role," Ammar further said.

The media campaign this year is entitled 'Our Happiness is Complete with You'. This campaign will include ads in the streets, daily newspapers, Virgin Megastore, The Sultan Center, and in various shopping malls. It will also include distributing a tourist guide booklet as well.

According to Ammar, hotel prices in Lebanon haven't increased. "Currently, 90 to 95 percent of the hotels are occupied and when compared to other countries, our prices haven't increase. A room in a 5-Star hotel is about $200, which is still less than in other countries," he concluded.

The Charge de Affaires of Lebanon in Kuwait Ghassan Abdulkhaliq also invited Kuwaitis and expats living in Kuwait to visit Lebanon this summer and wished them a pleasant stay.
By Nawara Fattahova

© Kuwait Times 2008

Saudis in Beirut (:

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Lebanese bounce back despite doubts

By Mike Sergeant
BBC News, Beirut



Beirut's famous corniche is one of the attractions coming back to life
They call it the "miracle of Lebanon" - the ability of this country to bounce back after a devastating war or political crisis.

Only last month, violence erupted on the streets of Beirut. Lebanon seemed to be bracing for another civil war.

But within weeks of a peace deal being signed in Doha, a president has finally been elected and tourists are returning to the Lebanese capital.

Once again, the evenings are filled with the sound of young people having fun and music blaring from Beirut's numerous bars and cafes.

In some countries, it would take years for confidence and optimism to return after such a period of intense uncertainty. Not here.

The Lebanese take huge pride in their ability to be crying one minute, and laughing the next.

Vibrancy

"The mood is good," says one man in a bright pink T-Shirt. "There is peace and love here between people."

You enjoy going out because you feel relaxed. I am very optimistic about the future

Beirut resident
A visitor from Kuwait tells me: "Nothing is miserable over here. It's a peaceful and beautiful place. It's coming back to life very quickly. In fact it's back already."

The Corniche - Beirut's famous seaside promenade - has already returned to its former vibrancy.

Fisherman perch on the rocks, young boys jump into the sea, men sit smoking their water pipes, little children toddle and run around, and youths on roller skates perform their stunts.

"It's very nice. The atmosphere feels safer now," one woman tells me.

"You enjoy going out because you feel relaxed. I am very optimistic about the future."

Most people here are trying not to get carried away, though. Lebanon has had too many disappointments in the past for that.

A peace deal may have been signed, a new president may have been elected, but the deep-rooted political problems in Lebanon remain.

Blockade lifted

After more than two weeks of intense negotiations, a government of national unity still hasn't been formed.


Lebanese have a unique ability to mix politics and hedonism


Enlarge Image


That's why Tourism Minister Joseph Sarkis is cautious in his predictions. But for the first time in two years, he feels reasonably confident that the summer season will see a big increase in visitors.

"The atmosphere in the country has changed completely with regard to politics and security," he tells me.

For more than a year and a half nothing much was possible in the centre of Beirut. It was choked by blockades and the tents of opposition protestors. They've quickly vanished. The cafes and businesses are springing back to life.

The Place de l'Etoile restaurant is suddenly busy again. Manager Charles Asmar says takings have doubled and he's recruiting extra staff.

"Now is good. We can say it's very good in fact!" he says with a beaming smile.

Heads versus hearts

Open air concerts have been taking place in Martyrs Square. Over the past two years, many similar events have been cancelled.

The crowds hold aloft their Lebanese flags. With every cheer and wave they seem to affirm this country's vitality and resilience.

But everybody knows that Lebanon's underlying issues haven't been solved.

Political power is still carved up between the same parties and interest groups. Peace deals can certainly unravel very quickly. Lebanon may return to crisis just as fast as it recovers.

Louis Hobeika, an economist with Notre Dame University, says: "I am not really optimistic so far. To be optimistic I need to see a new government. I have to see the new government really moving ahead with concrete and good policies."

In their heads, most people share his reservations. But in their hearts they want to celebrate. The good vibe may not last. For now, people here seem determined to make the most of it

Lebanese resort ready to receive Kuwaiti tourists

By Omar Al-Halabi (with photos)

BHAMDOUN, Lebanon, June 20 (KUNA) -- Bhamdoun town, which is considered a favorite tourism destination to Kuwaitis since decades, is ready to receive tourists who will spend in it their summer vacation.

Lebanon's Tourism Ministry launched the tourism season with the participation of deputy director of Safir hotel company Fouzi Al-Musallam, heads of municipalities, and Arab and foreign airlines.

Al-Musallam stressed that Kuwait and Lebanon are similar, describing Lebanon as the "pearl of the east" and Kuwait as the "pearl of the Gulf."

Meanwhile, head of Bhamdoun Municipality Osta Abu Rujaili told KUNA that the municipality checked the electricity and cleanness of the city and provided policemen and policewomen to ensure that everything is ready for the tourists.

He pointed out that the Municipality cooperated with Kuwait Embassy in Lebanon in organizing cultural and sport activities for the tourists.

The embassy is planning to hold a "diwaniya" for the Kuwaiti in one of the Lebanese hotels, he added.

He said that hotels in Lebanon are totally booked for July and August, adding that the daily rent of an apartment is between USD 100 and USD 250.

Lebanon expects over 1.3 million tourists in 2008

Daily Star staff
Saturday, July 05, 2008



BEIRUT: Lebanon expects over 1.3 million tourists this year thanks to the positive political atmosphere following the election of a new president, outgoing Tourism Minister Joe Sarkis said Friday. The minister made the remarks during a tour of Rafik Hariri International Airport, adding that most of the hotels in Beirut and the mountain are fully booked.

According to the figures released by Rafik Hariri International Airport, arriving passengers totaled 598,392 in the first five months of the year, while departing passengers amounted to a higher 633,255.

The minister said Lebanon is heading toward a promising tourism season, adding that the Tourism Ministry plans to launch widespread media campaign to encourage foreigners and Arabs to visit Lebanon.

"Once a new government is formed, I expect Lebanon to experience a steady rise in the number of visitors," he said.

In 2007, less than a million visitors arrived in Lebanon and authorities said most of the arrivals were Lebanese working in oil rich Gulf states and Africa.


Tourism represents over 18 percent of the country's GDP.

Sarkis said earlier Lebanon could generate more than $3 billion a year if the tourism season were good.

"We have missed many opportunities in the past. Now it is the time to make up for the loss," Sarkis said adding that all government agencies along with tour operators were ready to receive thousands of tourists this summer.

"The ministry has instructed all its staff to handle all the complains from tourists arriving to Lebanon and the Economy Ministry will make sure that restaurants do not raise their prices randomly just to make a quick profit from the visitors," Sarkis added.

Airport authorities said that the bulk of foreign visitors coming to Lebanon are from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. - The Daily Star

To say the truth, the situatio in Lebanon isn't good at all...But i've been several times to the arrivals sections in the Airport, and the planes are all full, there are a lot of people, and I'm seein a lot of Khalijis everywhere.

hopefully a cabinet will be formed and it should help...there close it seems

If the mood in Beirut keeps buzzing with excitement the way it has this week, Lebanon might start to become the paradise so many believe it could be. Yet as everyone here knows, long-term peace and stability have been Lebanon's rarest commodities - virtually since the day it won independence from France in 1943.

Just six weeks ago Beirut was a ghost town. Fighting between the radical Islamic movement Hezbollah and supporters of the ruling coalition of the Prime Minister, Fouad Siniora, had claimed 84 lives and brought the country back to the brink of civil war.

Fearing the worst, many fled for the hills, packing up their shops and restaurants. Hopes that 2008 would finally bring a decent tourist season were dashed yet again.

But with a deal between Siniora and Hezbollah to form a national unity government ahead of elections next year, and the swearing in of a new President, the city known as the Paris of the Middle East has been transformed.

Now Beirut's streets, hotels and bars are crammed with Arab tourists eager to soak up the city's liberal mores and carefree attitudes. Outside the waterfront hotels in the upmarket Corniche district there are Saudi Rolls-Royces. Getting a table at the country's only casino is near impossible.

"This is the famous spirit of the Lebanese," said Jawad Boulos, a Christian MP and a member of the ruling alliance, this week.

"But it is only on the surface. We are yet to solve the fundamental problems that caused the outbreak of violence last month.

"That problem is between a group of politicians who believe in Lebanon as a sovereign country, with its own government ruling for the benefit of the people as a whole, and between another group that want to subvert the interests of Lebanon to the interests of Iran and Syria."

Speaking from the comfort of his home in Jounieh, a half-hour drive north of Beirut, Boulos says the situation remains tense - a point reinforced by the 12 armed soldiers on permanent roster guarding the entrance to his apartment block.

"What we, the March 14 coalition, want is an end to the situation where Lebanon is the proxy for the disputes and conflicts across the wider Middle East," he said.

"In the case of Hezbollah, we have a private army funded by Iran which, although Hezbollah does care about Lebanon, they put the interest of Iran first. Backed by Syria also, Hezbollah is playing for another team."

So will the government-of-national-unity agreement forged last month hold together?

"I am optimistic that it will because I do not believe that it is anyone's interests to have prolonged violence right now. Our challenge is not to wipe out Hezbollah - far from it. Our challenge is to bring Hezbollah back into the system and make this party once again act in the interest of Lebanon, and not Iran or Syria."

The challenge for other countries, he believes, is to cut off the flow of arms to Hezbollah.

"We believe that this can be done. Other countries just need to try harder."

In the meantime it seems the Lebanese - and the 10 million-strong Lebanese diaspora spread across the globe - are determined to enjoy the summer of 2008 while it lasts.

Flights from Australia to Lebanon are reportedly booked out for three weeks in advance as people rush to take the opportunity to catch up with family and friends.

Sydney Morning Herald

To say the truth, the situatio in Lebanon isn't good at all...

And why is that ...? i dunno but i think the situation is great :|

Fighting between the radical Islamic movement Hezbollah.


"That problem is between a group of politicians who believe in Lebanon as a sovereign country, with its own government ruling for the benefit of the people as a whole, and between another group that want to subvert the interests of Lebanon to the interests of Iran and Syria."



Biased much? I am by no scar-inducing-stretch of the imagination a supporter of hizbulla, but I know better then to call them radical islamists ... and aren't they a little past being called a movement?

As for that quote, I started reading it and after "a group of politicians who believe in lebanon as a sovereign country" .. my eyes widened with excitement to see who the new group was ... but I was sadly disappointed

Lebanon’s Grand Hills Hotel’s royal suite enters Guinness book of records


The Guinness World Records Book classified the royal suite of Lebanon’s Grand Hills Hotel & SPA as the largest such suite in the world.

The suite has a residential area of 4,131 square meters, and includes terraces, gardens and pools with an additional area of about 4,000 square meters, resulting in a total area of about 8,000 square meters. The suite is priced at $63,000 per night excluding VAT.
The Grand Hills Hotel & SPA is a 5-star hotel located in the resort town of Broumana Northeast of Beirut. It has 118 rooms and suites, as well as 52 residential furnished apartments. It includes 12 restaurants and bars, 3 swimming pools, a Spa and health club, a night club, and banquet and conference facilities. The hotel cost $250m to build, was inaugurated in 2002 and is owned by the Moawad Group.

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Talking To: Naomi Sargeant
An interview with Time Out Beirut’s Naomi Sargeant
July 20, 2008

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Naomi Sargeant is commercial director for Time Out Beirut. Time Out magazine started in London in 1968 as a pamphlet and there are now franchise publications all over the world. Sargeant and Publisher Nehme Abouzaeid won a bid for the franchise of the London-based magazine that’s a mix of arts, entertainment and restaurant reviews and feature articles in 2005 and published the first issue in April 2006. They had to stop publishing the magazine when the July 2006 war broke out. After two years (and an attempt to publish a small, book-like city guide), Time Out Beirut is back. The summer issue hit newsstands July 4. There’ve been a few changes (the once monthly magazine will now appear on newsstands once every two months), a staff shake-up (some who fled the war never came back), and the inauguration of a new slogan. Sargeant talks to NOW about why to come back now.

NOW Lebanon: So, after a bit of a break, the magazine’s back on the shelves. Why relaunch now?

Naomi Sargeant: It was literally, the presidential elections happened. We had always wanted to come out, but there was never a right moment. It was a few days before this Doha Agreement came out, I said, ‘you know what, we should do a summer issue. Who cares what’s going on because people are living, they’re still doing things, they’re starting to do events, they’ve decided they don’t need a government, they can just live’…And then the Doha Agreement happened and you could feel the change. It was depression one day, the next day everyone took happy pills […] Then we said, ‘Let’s go for it.’

NOW: I understand you have a new slogan, “100% Independent, 110% Lebanese.” Why this, starting with the independence?

Sargeant: In Lebanon specifically, there isn’t editorial independence. A problem I face constantly is people say, “Ok, I’ll advertise with you but I want [positive] editorial [written about us].” How can we say we are critics in our field and be independent and then you see four five six ads that match that editorial [material]. People are not stupid, they will see through that and we won’t be believed. People trust what we say and in order to maintain that trust, you’ve got to be independent.

NOW: And “110% Lebanese”?

Sargeant: It’s saying this is for the Lebanese. This is about what you guys see every day, shopping, eating out, restaurants, that kind of stuff. At the end of the day, [the magazine has] this consumer element to it. As a consumer you need to be informed.

NOW: But it doesn’t refer to your staff?

Sargeant: I thought someone might come up with this question, because, not every writer is Lebanese. That’s because we’re a victim of the circumstances of the country at the time. We try to hire Lebanese above anyone else, however, at the moment it’s a bit difficult because all the good writers or the people in those fields are not available, or they’re not in the country. A lot of the people that were here before have left. They’ve gone to Dubai or they’ve gone internationally.

NOW: What was it like when the July 2006 war broke out and when did you decide to stop publication for a while?

Sargeant: I’ve been here for a while. Always in the lead-up to June or July, There’s always something. There’ve always been skirmishes or something along the border. I think I was in a bit of a bubble. I said, “OK, the airport’s been bombed, not a big deal. Give it two or three days, it will blow over” [...] I don’t think it really hit me, the seriousness of the situation [...] We were in the office on a Wednesday, and everyone’s mobile phones were ringing, so I sent everyone home and said, “Ok, I’ll call you all on Monday once this has blown over.” It was very clear on Monday this was escalating. People had been calling me saying, “We’re not hanging around, we’re leaving.” I was trying to say, “No, no, no don’t worry, we’re going to continue, don’t worry about this.” But…It was shut down. We were shut down.

NOW: I understand the cover of your June 2006 issue, the “Sex” issue, was a bit shocking?

Sargeant: That’s the thing. No, it’s wasn’t thought. I said to everyone, “If you put your hand over the word ‘sex’ [on the cover] what do you have?” You have a knee-to-ankle shot with a pair of knickers around it. Go look at any billboard. You see women in lingerie. That is more provocative than anything. But the fact that we put the word “sex” on the cover was more shocking than anything. And it changed the vision. People saw the picture in a different light.

NOW: What sort of reaction did you get?

Sargeant: Everyone said, “Can you do that?” I said, “Do what? What exactly did we do?” one guy, [I don’t remember where], went into one of the stricter bookshops, took all the copies off the shelf, threw them on the floor and spat on one of them, saying “This is not Lebanon. This should not be representative of Lebanon. How dare they!” So we did get a call from [someone from some security office, I’m not sure which one], who said, “You should put this in a black bag.” And we said “Why? We don’t have to go through censorship. What is it that we’ve done that’s so wrong?” And they told us that if we reprint it and put it on the shelf, we have to put it in a black bag…And people talk about it. I don’t know of any other magazine in this market that people still talk about two years later. It’s something we will do again.

NOW: So what’s the next taboo you’re going to write about?

Sargeant: The next issue is the eat-out issue. It’s all about restaurants. We’re doing a lot of restaurant reviews, so that will probably upset some people

NOW: Why’s that?

Sargeant: Restaurant reviews, we star-rate them. We go in anonymously. We get a lot of people say, “Why didn’t you tell us you were coming in to review us? I can’t believe you only gave us three stars. Who is this person that did the review, I want to meet them?”

NOW: Any death threats?

No, I don’t think it goes that far.

*The previous editor was doing a show for the travel channel with Anthony Bourdains- no reservations. When they both saw the jets overhead...This is an important magazine and only is written in very big tourists spots. Its a further vote of confidence.

Political Calm Lures Tourists Back to Lebanon

New Yorker Dareen Hakim had dreamed of waking up in her grandmother's house in the mountains overlooking Beirut to a breakfast of fresh fruit jams and a manousheh -- a Lebanese thyme-flavored flatbread.

Her wish came true this week as she joined tens of thousands of Lebanese and other visitors who are flocking back to Beirut, packing nightclubs, beaches and restaurants in a country that just months ago stood on the brink of civil war.

"Every time I have wanted to come, there was fighting and it was unstable," said the 30-year-old businesswoman, who is in town making plans for her wedding next year.

The tourism ministry said it expects between 1.3 and 1.6 million tourists to travel to Lebanon this year after a breakthrough deal among rival political clans that has brought back a semblance of normalcy to a country once known as the Switzerland of the Middle East.

The figure compares with a little over a million last year, 1.062 million in 2006, when thousands fled the country due to the July-August war between Hizbullah and Israel, and 1.140 million in 2005.

The tourism ministry said there had been a 97.5 percent jump in tourist arrivals in June alone, to 136,853 from 69,303 in June 2007.

"It was after the talks in Doha that I decided to come," said Nadim Saab, 58, who had not been back in three years.

"Before that, the political situation wasn't that great and the country wasn't, in my mind, a safe place to come and enjoy," the U.S.-based self-employed businessman said.

Unrest, including assassinations, war, a debilitating political crisis and civil strife had deterred tourists and visitors from coming to Lebanon the past two summers.

But things took a turn for the better in May following a peace deal clinched in the Qatari capital Doha that brought an end to violence that had killed 65 people and led to the election of President Michel Suleiman after a six month vacuum.

A national unity government was formed earlier this month.

"All the tourist places are packed, the restaurants are packed, the flights were packed, even the roads are packed," Saab said.

A Middle East Airlines reservations agent told Agence France Presse that "all flights coming into the country are full" through the summer.

Lebanese returning from abroad and predominantly Arab tourists have crowded the country's popular hotels, beaches and night spots.

"The occupancy rate of hotels in Beirut has surpassed 90 percent and hotels in the mountains are seeing rates of over 75 percent," said Pierre Ashkar who heads the hotel owners' association.

"Last year, the occupancy rate in Beirut stood at around 60 to 65 percent," he said.

The Royale Hotel, located north of Beirut, has seen a significant jump in business and rooms in other hotels are hard to come by.

"Our occupancy is up 40 percent as compared to the same period last year," a hotel employee told AFP requesting anonymity.

Finding a rental car has also become like pulling teeth and dealerships are out of stock amid a rush to purchase gas-efficient vehicles.

"We don't have a single rental car left so we're borrowing private vehicles and renting them out," said Tony Haddad who runs HR Rental.

Restaurants and nightclubs are also busting at the seams and a host of musical events are scheduled, including performances by singing sensation Mika, performer Bob Sinclair and world-renowned DJ Tiesto.

"We expect over 10,000 people to attend Mika on Sunday," said event organizer Wafa Saab.

Sky Bar, one of Beirut's most popular nightclubs that can host up to 2,000 people a night, is fully booked every weekend until the end of the season.

"Even on weekdays, we are at 80 to 85 percent capacity rate till the end of the season," said Adham Beainy, 29, a manager.

"The places that did well last summer are doing even better this year and the places that didn't do well last summer are doing well now," he added saying that the true test would be in the month of August.

But despite the impressive numbers, some say the season could have been even better had politics not gotten in the way, with the 45 days of political bickering it took to form a government.

"If the government had been formed earlier, it would have been better," Ashkar said.(AFP) (AFP file photo shows workers at a construction site in Beirut)



Beirut, 25 Jul 08, 08:25

Gulf Arabs flock to Bhamdoun to escape scorching heat
Mountain town sees best tourism season since Hariri assassination in 2005
By Eamon Kircher-Allen
Special to The Daily Star
Wednesday, July 30, 2008




BHAMDOUN: Weather is the number one reason that Mubarak Dashti spends summers in Bhamdoun. "You see?" the 19-year-old Kuwaiti said on Thursday evening, pointing to the weather report on his laptop as he sat in one of Bhamdoum's two Costa cafes. "It's 39 degrees right now in Kuwait City."

In Bhamdoun, darkness had fallen, and a cool mountain mist billowed through the winding streets of the resort hamlet, which hangs from the side of the Beirut-Damascus road at an elevation of more than 1,000 meters, about 45 minutes from Beirut.

This year, Bhamdoun's breezes, green views and carnival atmosphere are drawing larger crowds of Gulf visitors like Dashti, contributing to a cautious resurgence of the local tourism industry. Merchants in the town say that this summer has been the best for business since the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri - though success has come in fits and starts, and it is still a far cry from Bhamdoun's pre-Civil War glory days.

"This summer is good, but it should have been better," said Elias Demer, the manager of the outdoor Janneh restaurant who remembers a time before the 1975-90 war when Bhamdoun was "one of the most important tourist cities in Lebanon."

"Last year was not very good, and the summer before there was the July war [in 2006], and we closed," he said as he gazed out at the restaurant's breathtaking view of Wadi Lamartine below the town. "But now, it's improving little by little."

Tareq Abu Hassan, who owns a property rental agency in Bhamdoun, said the season had gotten a late start this year.

"People were afraid because there was no government," he said. "And unfortunately, people who stayed here during the July war are still afraid."

But Hassan says he is now doing steady business, renting apartments for prices ranging from $100 to $300 a night.

That may not be much of a price tag for the owners of luxury SUVs with Kuwait license plates that creep up and down Bhamdoun's streets in the evening, as cafes begin to fill with people. Despite rising prices in Lebanon, Gulf money still goes a long way toward enjoying Bhamdoun's mix of luxury and kitsch, not to mention its social atmosphere, which is more open than in many visitors' home countries.

A 500-meter stretch of the main road boasts a Starbucks, a Hardee's, Ichiban sushi, luxury hotels - including the Sheraton and the Safir - and a cafe called "Hooters." Women in outfits ranging from full niqab to the skin-tight and revealing peruse boutiques advertising fake jewelry. Men wearing designer jeans or the white robes of the Gulf stroll in clouds of cologne, or sit with plates of ice cream while checking their e-mail on wireless Internet connections. There is little in the way of drinking establishments. It is a scene that caters specifically to tourists from the Arab world.


"Most of my customers are from the Gulf - Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia," said Jihan al-Sayegh, who runs a clothing shop on Bhamdoun's main drag. "Non-Arabs? No, I haven't seen any."

There are also rumors that young, single men from the Gulf come to Bhamdoun to pick up prostitutes or take their girlfriends for overnight visits.

"Let me tell you frankly from the beginning that you can't bring girls to the house," said Hassan, the rental agent, to a group of young men from the Gulf who inquired about a room for the night. For whatever reason, the group chose to rent elsewhere.

"Guys like them come here for the girls," said an assistant at the office, Mohammad Ali Bubu, with disapproval.

However, most of Bhamdoun's visitors are in search of more prosaic pleasures and a family atmosphere.

The wildest attraction in the town center is a boat-turned-float festooned with flashing, colored lights and blasting Arabic pop-music.

For 4,000 Lebanese pounds ($2.6), tourists - men, women and children - board the float for short tours of the town, until the wee hours of the morning.

Nights run late in Bhamdoun, but the mood is nothing like the after-hours drunkenness that is standard in some of Beirut's pub-lined streets.

"We just sit in the cafe every day, go to bed about 5 a.m. and wake up at 3 p.m.," said Dhari al-Azmiy, a friend of Dashti's who sat with him in Costa cafe.

"We like the mountains and the forests here," Dashti said. "But to be honest, it's a little boring, because we stay here and do the same thing everyday."

At least it's not 50 degrees, like Kuwait City. That's one tourism-promoting factor that Bhamdoun businesses can continue to count on.

BEIRUT: European and Middle Eastern instructors, each with several years of experience in the "responsible" tourism sector, have gathered in Lebanon this week to offer an intensive nine-day training session for tour guides held by Centre pour L'Insertion par la Formation et l'Activite (CIFA).

The courses, aimed at improving the quality and efficiency of services provided by tour leaders in the region, will contribute to sustainable development by creating new job opportunities, CIFA said in a statement on Thursday.

This week's session gathered participants from Jordan, Syria and Lebanon who benefitted from the specialized training modules on offer.

Tourism in the region is on the rise, with Syria and Jordan witnessing a vast increase in visitors due to intensive marketing efforts and renewed interest by Europeans to discover the region. Lebanese tour operators are also optimistic amid the current climate and are once again putting a positive spin on the country, hoping to give tourist groups the confidence to visit.

While many tourists come to the Middle East to visit world-famous sites such as Baalbek, Petra, and Palmyra, others look beyond and also wish to discover rural regions and meet the local community. TLB Destinations, a regional incoming-tour operator specializing in adventure packages, introduced a new concept - known today as responsible tourism - since it began operations 12 years ago. The company philosophy is to plan tours to benefit the community by employing local tour leaders and guides and encouraging stays with rural villagers or small family-owned lodgings.

After several years of observation and study in the area of responsible tourism, CIFA, a non-profit organization, was founded by TLB Destinations to focus on the linkages between tourism, conservation, and sustainable development, within the growing movement for responsible tourism.

CIFA established a training center in order to train unemployed locals to become tour leaders thus creating job opportunities. Tour leaders are trained to safeguard local heritage and traditions and improve knowledge to protect the environment and biodiversity, as well as providing a professional service for the traveler

This month's sessions are part of CIFA's training program aimed at improving the skills of those working in the tourism industry as well as contributing toward sustainable development in the Middle East.


"We hope to offer training for more people in the coming year," said CIFA project manager Sabina Llewellyn-Davies. "The vast increase in incoming tourism to the Mideast needs major investments in the field of practical tourism training, to build quality services, and at the same time to create new job opportunities to the unemployed."

Several of the participants taking the training are currently unemployed, including Daniel Abou Khalil from Lebanon who heard about the course through a friend. "I really appreciate the benefits of the training and am looking forward to this new opportunity and I am really excited about this challenge."

All the participants will later continue with ongoing practical training after the initial introductory course.

"I am currently without a job. With this added training I will now be able to find work in my country," says Ahmad Hamden, one of the Jordanian participants who benefited from modules ranging from trekking guidelines to First Aid training

"CIFA believes that a well-trained tour leader can safeguard a country's heritage and environment, as well as improve contact between travelers and local communities, thus building bridges between East and West," Llewellyn-Davies said.

This summer's training is taking place at a mountain orphanage; the participants are sleeping over here to further encourage teambuilding.

"Our stay will directly benefit a project which offers shelter to war orphans as well as street children," explained Llewellyn-Davies. The cost of this summer's training for the participants is being covered by tour operator TLB Destinations, to contribute to sustainable development.

The training courses will conclude with a two-day mountain hike with overnight camping in the North of Lebanon.

"This training is beneficial to improve my knowledge, and to exchange ideas with the other participants from three different countries," said Qamar Ayoubi, a tour guide and history professor from Damascus. "The trainers are very dedicated and knowledgeable and I feel that I will return to Syria with a new awareness of the objectives of responsible tourism." - The Daily Star

BRUMMANA: Late Friday afternoon, a parade of late-model sedans clogs the winding road from Beirut up to Brummana. The cars are filled with Beirutis seeking an escape from the crowds and heat of the city amidst the pine trees - and bars - of this mountain town. For most of the year, Brummana is a sleepy town full of people who've known each other for years, said Kareem Demiane, 17, a local resident. But as the summer approaches and the air turns thick, weekenders from Beirut and vacationers from the Gulf fill the sidewalks and furnished apartments along the town's main road.

Aside from the expansive grounds and stone buildings of the Brummana High School, a Quaker school founded in the 1870's, the town has few prominent attractions.

But what the area lacks in beaches and historic ruins, it makes up for with a wealth of restaurants, a moderate climate, and a sweeping view of Beirut. On a clear day, you can see from Antelias to the airport and every detail in between.

There is no town center, only a main road lined on either side with small businesses and concrete apartment buildings designed to seize as much of the view as possible. At night, the road becomes an elongated valet parking lot, as visitors and residents descend upon the town's two main strips of bars and restaurants.

Although the venues are different and the air is cooler, the partiers may look familiar to anyone who frequents the clubs of Monot and Gemayyzeh. "They're the same people," Demiane said. "You see them there, you see them up here, you see them everyday."


This shared target audience has posed a challenge to many Brummana businesses this summer. Now that the protesters are gone, the downtown area in Beirut has seen a revival and is pulling away customers, said Paul Eid, the manager of Copas bar and restaurant. This year, though, the town has seen an increase in tourist from the Gulf and Lebanese visiting from abroad, according to Fouad Hijazi, a high school student from Beirut. "Last summer was all people running from the war," he said. "This year is all people coming from the oil countries."

Alongside the revealing dresses and open collar shirts of the Monot crowd, women in abbayahs and men in dishdashas crowd the town's restaurants.

"They go crazy because they're restricted [in the Gulf.] Here they do whatever they want," Demiane said.

Brummana has long served as a refuge for those that refuse to except restrictions on their freedom.

When violence broke out in Beirut in May, club goers kept that party alive at places like Copas, Eid said. The town experienced a similar boom during the summer 2006 war. "Everything was packed," Demiane said. "You could hear the bombs and people were out cruising around."

For some people the town's attraction is not the bars or the view, but simply the weather. "It's too damn hot down there," one local resident said.

BEIRUT: Before their drinks are finished, the group of English tourists huddle over their copy of "Lonely Planet" to plan their next stop. "It says this club is busy on weekdays and has a dance floor," says Alex Cheung, 32. The description is four years old, but Cheung and his fellow travelers hang on its every adjective. The destinations of choice among young, low-budget foreign tourists are set to change, though, as "Lonely Planet" released a new edition of its guide to Syria and Lebanon last month. The guidebook, which features listings and descriptions for hotels, pubs, cafes and nightclubs across Beirut, will significantly affect those businesses listed over the next four years, said travelers and hotel owners.

Several companies publish guidebooks to Lebanon, but the "Lonely Planet" guide, first published in 1999 and now on its third edition, is by far the most popular. Cheung says 99 percent of solo travelers use the Australian company's guidebooks. While that may be impossible to confirm, a stroll through Downtown of late confirms his point that the company's guidebooks are exceptionally popular. Along with khaki shorts, cameras and oversize backpacks, "Lonely Planet" guidebooks have become one of the most recognizable signs of a foreign tourist.

The guidebooks' ubiquity has created what Lisa Negrotti, 35, describes as "a backpacker trail." Negrotti, who lives in London, traveled in Jordan without a guidebook earlier this summer, she says. Every hotel she came across had plenty of empty rooms, except one, which was completely full - as she later learned, that hotel, unlike the others she visited, was listed in the "Lonely Planet" guide to the Middle East, she says.

"I've met people, young people mostly, that religiously fall back on the guidebook for everything," Negrotti says.

When Talal's New Hotel, a low-budget hotel near Charles Helou bus station opened nine years ago, most guests learned about it from other travelers, says owner Zaher Talal. Today, 50 percent of its guests find the hotel through its listing in "Lonely Planet", and it is expanding into a building across the street. The manager of the Regis Hotel, another low-budget hotel listed in the guidebook, says most of his guests find his hotel through "Lonely Planet" as well.


"I stick to the guidebook," says Chris North, a guest at Pension al-Nazih, adding he chose to stay there based on its positive description in "Lonely Planet." "You always meet backpackers at these places who found them the same way."

Though "Lonely Planet" guidebooks list mid-range and upper-end hotels as well, budget establishments receive the most business from its readers. Casa d'Or, a four-star hotel in Hamra, is listed in the new edition of the Syria and Lebanon guide, but not in the old edition. "This [listing] will contribute maybe 0.1 percent of our customers, not more," says general manager Daniel al-Mouni. Hotels like Casa d'Or primarily cater to businessmen, not the type of budget tourists that use "Lonely Planet," he says.

The effects of the listings on restaurants and bars also appear small. Istambouli, a Lebanese restaurant in Hamra, is listed in the "Lonely Planet" guidebook but sees very few Western tourists, says a waiter. Tourists tend to choose where they eat and go out at night based more on places which they find themselves or which are recommended to them by people they meet, says Adam Gullen, an American tourist. "I use guidebooks for hotels and transportation. I don't use them for restaurants."

Some of the information in the new guidebook is already out of date - for example, it encourages visitors to stay away from the Hizbullah tent city in Downtown which disappeared in May. But its descriptions of the "down-to-earth, 24-hour vibe" of Bliss Street and the "impressive collection of archaeological artifacts" at the National Museum are sure to guide low-budget tourists around Beirut until the next edition comes out.

^^ Im a huge fan of lonely planet, hopfully one day I can work for them.

MOUNT LEBANON: The Mount Lebanon region has seen a remarkable increase in tourism this summer, with scores of emigrants and Arab visitors filling several regions of the governate.

Hammana Mayor Habib Rizk told The Daily Star on Tuesday that the town is currently hosting some 450 Kuwaiti families in addition to several Emirate and Jordanian visitors.

"Since July 15, reservations at Hammana's hotels have exceeded 85 percent," Rizk said.

"Our traditional 'laughter festival' alone has received 10,000 people," he added.

"The economic and commercial activity has flourished in a remarkable way and the movie house here has reopened," he added.

Rasheed Zeineddine, a Ras al-Metn resident who coordinates tourism activity for the region, said ceremonies and festivals in the town were drawing large crowds of tourists.

"The Choueifat town, for example, has recovered its tourist activity as emigrants returned to their hometown," Zeineddine told The Daily Star. "Hotels and beach resorts in neighboring Khaldeh are also crowded with tourists."


Bhamdoun Mayor Osta Abu Rjaili said his village is living "the wedding of summer season."

"Rents and investment in Bhamdoun has set a record," he told The Daily Star. "We no longer have any empty hotel rooms or apartments.

"Even streets and cafes are full of people."

As for Aley, a prominent tourism resort in Lebanon, unemployment had decreased as the services sector had provided work for a large number of Lebanese job-seekers, according to Mayor Wajdi Mrad.

"Salaries have even been raised," he added.

"The growth in this year's tourist activity has caused many Lebanese youths to refrain from traveling abroad and work in their homeland."

The head of Aley's Merchants Association, Samir Chehab, said he expected the influx of tourists to remain heavy until the end of the holy month of Ramadan at the end of September.

"Residents of the Gulf intend to spend Ramadan in Lebanon,"

Beirut's whet appetite

August 2008

Despite a buffet of recent disasters, dinners are back in downtown
The resilience of the Lebanese has become legendary, and each war confirms that by the end of it people will sweep off the rubble and return to business as usual. Even tourists seem to believe as much. On the other hand, even though tourists keep on returning, the Lebanese themselves are leaving their homeland for more stable countries. And Lebanese entrepreneurs are not only selling their knowledge abroad, they are investing there as well.

Through the ordeal of the past 18 months, where blockaded downtown Beirut became a ghost town, some businesses stayed open, confirming the Lebanese resilience and entrepreneurial spirit. However, even for the bold ones patience may have a limit.

One would be forgiven for having felt rather schizophrenic on May 22. On that day downtown Beirut metamorphosed from what seemed like a sad refugee camp with more tents than refugees into a booming area where tourists and locals shopped, shared coffee tables and smoked narghiles -- all in less than 24 hours. "When they took the tents down I went one evening there and saw the terrace full, the inside of the restaurant full, all the old customers, you know, my heart grew," said Sami Hochar, general manager of Catertainment, the company that owns Lina's Sandwiches.


Cooking on a roller coaster

A staple of Lebanese creativity that went as far as Paris, Lina's had reason to celebrate the end of the 18-month occupation of downtown Beirut. Throughout those months, the downtown branch had accumulated losses of about $50,000, a sum it will take the restaurant another six months to recover. The July War with Israel is classified by Hochar as "a catastrophe we had 300 customers a week".

But after those thirty days of war, downtown quickly recovered and by September 2006 the number of clients had climbed back to 2,500 per week. But this was not to last. By December 2006, that number dropped to 750 customers a week.

Of course, the problems downtown had started even before the 2006 War, with the assassination of ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. "If you compare recent numbers with 2004, it has never been as good again. At that time we used to get around 5,000 customers a week," Hochar said.

When he saw the tents downtown, Hochar thought the occupation was going to last "one month, six weeks at most. I never imagined that any Lebanese party would accept such situation where the economy of the country was in danger, families were in danger, losing their jobs, their money. I thought nobody would ever accept such a thing."

That disbelief was shared by Jean Claude Ghosn, managing partner of Ghia Holding, owner of Duo. Hope, or miscalculation, was one of the things that kept his restaurant open. "We kept Duo open because we didn't know downtown was going to be closed for eighteen months. Everyone was saying it was going to be one month, two, maximum three months," Ghosn averred. Known for being full for lunch on a daily basis, over the 18 months of paralysis Duo accumulated a loss of about $900,000. The holding company had already closed another restaurant in downtown, two months after the tents came. "We were losing a lot of money with Al Bakawat, as it was not on the main road and customers had to cross checkpoints to access the restaurant," Ghosn explained. With that closure alone, 32 employees lost their jobs. In Duo, with some effort Ghosn managed to keep most of the staff, having to let go only 15 out of 45. But, he said, "the remaining got a lower salary, because they worked fewer hours."

Success abroad was another reason that Duo could not close. With a Duo restaurant already operating in Dubai and two other opening soon in Qatar and Riyadh, Ghosn could not close the flagship of his franchise. "We cannot open there and close here, it is not fair," he said.

La Posta, an Italian restaurant that shares the same street with Duo, was equally damaged.

"With the occupation of downtown by protesters, our turnover fell suddenly by 80% and 95% compared to 2004", said General Manager Michel Ferneini. "In other words, in the last period of the occupation the monthly turnover was what we used to make in a single weekend in 2004."

Empty seats

Deprived of foreigners, the restaurants were also empty of Lebanese. "Tourists? Not even 'tourists' from Verdun or Achrafieh used to come," Ferneini pointed out. "In the last period our guests were mainly people working in the downtown area." At Duo, the 400 covers a day became 25 during downtown's occupation, "counting the staff and ourselves", according to Ghosn.

Hochar, who refused to close his bar in Gemmayzeh during the 2006 War, knows the problem well. "We stayed open, we refused to close. We had two or three people at the bar I was one of them." The problem with downtown, as opposed to the war with Israel, was the length. With a deadlock that did not seem to have an end, restaurants did not even need to fire workers started to leave on their own accord.

"We did not fire anyone. Some were relocated, and some left to other countries," said Hochar. "In the last three years we did not fire a single employee," Ferneini concurred. "Some of them travelled abroad, and not because they were afraid of losing their job but because they lacked confidence in the country."

The drop in the quality of the service is noticeable. For Maya Bekhazi, a young entrepreneur who owns Tartuffo and is a partner in at least four different restaurants, including the landmark Beirut Cellar, "the biggest problem we have now is the export of our human resources." Sharp and meticulous, Bekhazi has been hired as consultant by a big hotel chain, and she knows the importance of highly trained staff: "It's been very tough to replace people. We always bring new personnel, we train them, and then they find offers outside." Ferneini agrees. "Finding new collaborators is a hard task. There is a huge demand while the offer in all positions is rare, largely unprofessional and unqualified," he said.

Bekhazi acknowledges that the salaries offered abroad are higher, often three times as much, but the Lebanese wished they could come back even for lower pay. "I always get calls from Lebanese who used to work for us wanting to come back, even for less money. The only thing they want is stability. They are young and ambitious, they want to set up families, they want to save some money, that is their concern," she said.

Sometimes, these employees end up working for a company founded or created by a Lebanese but located outside Lebanon. La Posta, Duo and Lina's are all opening branches or franchises abroad, even as far as India. Inside the country, the owners make sure they keep strategies to swerve the odds. "We are trying to make sure our eggs are not all in one single basket", explained Maroun Daou, operations director of Ghia Holding.

The basket, in Ghia Holding's case, is the Green Line, or the imaginary border that has been dividing Beirut into East and West since the time of the Civil War. "If you think about it, all our restaurants are on the Green Line, from Abdel Wahab to Paladar to Shah to Duo, all on the separation line. I am not afraid of being in downtown, but I prefer to stay outside, like ABC, Achrafieh, in the mountains, maybe even in Dbayyeh in the future, to diversify as much as possible", said Ghosn. Lina's, which is diversifying its locations as well, is opening a branch in Saida, even though it will not be able to sell alcohol.

Beirut's downtown has already shown it is probably as resilient as the Lebanese. On the first Saturday after the tent city was removed, Lina's clients went from 100 to 700. Duo will register a profit of $40,000 in June. La Posta also expects the first year of profit-earning after three years of losses. But all entrepreneurs seem rather cautious about the situation. "Again we are surviving, we are reopening, and this is due to the Lebanese individual, not the government or the parties," Hochar said. "But then, how long will it last? The kids are leaving, smart people are leaving, big companies are leaving. I always give the example of my children. One of them left already and the second will leave next year."

Yet hope is staying. "We are hopeful," Ghosn averred. "We don't believe much anymore, but we don't have another choice." Maya Bekhazi shared what seems to be, in a rather Lebanese way, a paradoxically optimistic cynicism: "I can't afford to be very realistic, let's put it this way I just have to be very positive, because if I want to measure the risk I will just stop all my business in Lebanon."


© Executive 2008

I dont know about this one...

The TimesAugust 15, 2008

Bombs and Botox in Beirut

How do you cope with with living in Lebanon? Get a nose jobAlice Fordham
Here in Beirut, they love plastic surgery. They don't just love being beautiful and glamorous - though the city does have a shop that sells only gold shoes - they love the whole process of spending money to change your appearance. Beiruti hoydens go out in the evening with bandages still on their noses, to show the full-time people-watchers of Lebanon the status symbol that is having the money and leisure to make themselves even more beautiful. Older women, I am told, like to go away for a special holiday and come back all healed up. Banks here offer loans specifically for Botox or plastic surgery, which is getting cheaper. You could bounce a squash ball off the breasts at the private beaches. Surgery is a national obsession.

Now, there is something of a backlash. An exhibition of paintings has just opened, depicting women with their bandages still on, lips painted scarlet and a look on their faces that might be anything from haunted despair to indigestion. It has been received as an indictment of the shallowness of this national quest for physical perfection and the status of beauty.

Scratch a little deeper and it is not just that it is shallow for the Lebanese to be obsessed with their appearance. There is bewilderment at the morality of the rich and sociable being interested in beauty when there is so much horrific stuff happening around them. Can these people, the thinking goes, literally not see beyond the end of their noses? How can they expend so much time and effort on something so vain when, as earlier this week, there was a bus bomb in Tripoli? In May, civilians were dying in sectarian gunfights in Beirut. The violence was in Hamra, a louche and lovely party area. Within one day of the May violence dying down, the bars were open and the girls once again putting on the glitz. The mother and child who died in the violence seemingly forgotten.

The glamour pusses of downtown Beirut are the rich and lucky minority. But it is a Lebanese tendency to push aside troubles and focus on fun. Some see this as a national psychological defence mechanism. These people have endured decades of internal and external strife and they live in a country where sectarian rifts are getting deeper and, very likely, storing up trouble for the future. If they focused on what had happened and what was likely to happen, they couldn't cope. So, in Beirut at least, they go to the rooftop nightclubs or the road of bars in the beautiful, battered area of Gemmayze and make the most of the clubs that stay open no matter what the security situation.

Some are less charitable in their assessment of the mindset. “It's sick,” said a Lebanese friend bluntly. “They don't think about civilians dying, they just party, party, party.” The World Press Photo picture of the year prize in 2006 was given to an image of young beautiful Lebanese women, driving through a bombsite as if on a sightseeing tour, wrinkling their (perfect) noses. Other Lebanese friends said that in 2006, they heard people moan that the war had “ruined their summer”.

Sure, the young are vain and reprehensible, but I have sympathy with their desire to distract themselves from reality. Because, like everyone else who has come to Beirut in the summer, I am suffering from a dizzying crush on the place. And the hedonism of the gilded youth here is an indivisible part of its charm. Without the gold-shod girls and champagne-buying guys, the mixture of chaos and charm would not be nearly as intoxicating. No foreigner propping up a bar and enjoying the beautiful melting pot that is Beirut has any right to complain that the rich kids ignore the suffering and corruption.

And I am not the only foreigner sinking Lebanese rosé here this summer. The country is crawling with tourists, and all over the world you meet people whose eyes go all filmy if you mention sunrise on the Corniche. Beirut is a crazy, jewelled mosaic of the brand new and the bombed-out, of dust in the evenings and silhouetted palm trees in the morning. And the economy of this country needs tourism. While it is not a philanthropic urge that motivates Beirut's parties, the city's reputation for fun and the Lebanese reputation for charm and hospitality do attract visitors who support the many employees of hotels, shops and beaches.

So, if it is denial that fosters this charm, then it is hard to condemn it. A society that prizes artificial beauty seems superficial but it is a symptom of a coping mechanism that creates one of the most adorable cities in the world. In July, crowds gathered outside the memorial to Rafik Hariri, the prime minister assassinated three years ago. But they weren't commemorating him. They gathered in Martyrs' Square to listen to Mika, and the Anglo-Lebanese popster's slick melodies played to a euphoric crowd enjoying the zenith of one of the best Lebanese summers for years.

Because, really, what else can they do? Read up on Lebanon. This country has torn itself apart for ever; the differences are implacable. If everyone in the crowd watching Mika stopped, and sat, and started talking about their beliefs and about how to solve problems, they would probably come to blows. Everyone here has deeply held affiliations, inherited and totally incompatible with the views of their friends. Who can blame them for skirting around the issue and thinking instead about society, style and about how great they're going to look after their surgeon is finished with them?

يشهد القطاع السياحي في لبنان تطورا كبيرا خلال هذا العام بعد استقرار الوضعين السياسي والأقتصادي في البلاد .

وأعلن وزير السياحة إيلي ماروني عن دخول 216 ألف سائح إلى لبنان خلال شهر يوليو وحده متوقعا وصول المزيد من السيّاح خلال الأشهر المقبلة ما يسهم في المزيد من التقدم على الصعيد السياحي.

ودعا الى وضع برنامج عمل للنهوض بالقطاع السياحي ولإطلاق برنامج تنموي إضافة إلى وضع جدول سياحي يراعي توزيع مواعيد المهرجانات كي لا تتضارب هذه المواعيد وكي يتمكّن الجميع من المشاركة في كل هذه المهرجانات .

وقال ماروني إن الوزارة بصدد تحضير برنامج عمل متكامل للسنة المقبلة لأن السنة السياحية الحالية قد شارفت على الانتهاء.

الى ذلك ارتفعت حجوزات وكالات السياحة والسفر بشكل لافت خلال الأشهر الأخيرة الماضية فيما تطورت الحركة في قطاع المطاعم والمقاهي بنسبة 50 في المئة عن حجم الأعمال الذي كان قائما بحسب رئيس نقابة أصحاب المطاعم والمقاهي بول عريس.

وأوضح أن حركة السياح الناشطة أدّت إلى نمو في عمل المطاعم والمقاهي وخصوصا في بيروت والمناطق الساحلية ومناطق الاصطياف وأبرزها عاليه وبحمدون أمّا المناطق التي تخرج من دائرة الاهتمام السياحي عادة فهي تشهد كذلك حركة جيدة نسبة إلى عملها خلال السنوات الماضية .

ولفت بول عريس إلى أن زيادة الحركة في القطاعات السياحية على الرغم من نموها اللافت الا انها لم تصل بعد إلى مستوى الحركة التي كانت تسجّل قبل عام 2005م.

وأشار إلى افتتاح نحو 300 مطعم خلال السنتين الماضيتين.

^^ .... I used google to translate.

Witness the tourism sector in Lebanon has evolved significantly during this year after political stability and economic situations in the country.

The Tourism Minister Eli Maroni on the entry of 216 thousand tourists to Lebanon during the month of July alone anticipated the arrival of more tourists during the coming months as contribute to further progress on the level of tourism.

He called for a programme of action for the advancement of the tourist sector and launch development program as well as setting the agenda takes into account the distribution of tourist festivals dates for these dates do not conflict so that everyone can participate in all these festivals.

Maroni said that the Ministry is currently preparing an integrated programme of action for the coming year because the current year, tourism has on the verge of completion.

It rose bookings and tourism and travel agencies are remarkable in recent months evolved in the last movement in the Gaza restaurants and cafes at 50 percent of the volume of business that existed According to the chairman of the Bar owners of restaurants, cafes Paul bridegroom.

He explained that the movement of tourists has led to the growth of active work in restaurants and cafes, especially in Beirut and coastal areas and areas of high summer, the most prominent and Bhamdoun The areas that depart from the circle of attention to tourism usually are witnessing the movement as well as a good proportion of the work over the past years.

He Paul bridegroom to the increase in traffic in the sectors of tourism, despite the growth is striking but it has not yet reached the level of movement, which was recorded before in 2005.

He pointed to the opening of a restaurant about 300 during the past two years.

the chairman of the Bar owners of restaurants, cafes Paul bridegroom.


i love google translations :lol: :lol::lol:

BEIRUT: The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) estimated that the travel and tourism industry would contribute directly $1.36 billion to the Lebanese economy, equivalent to 5.7 percent of GDP in 2008, according to a report in Lebanon This Week, an economic publication of the Byblos Bank Group. The report added that direct industry employment will reach 80,000, representing 5.9 percent of total employment in Lebanon this year.

The report said that since travel and tourism (T&T) touches on all sectors of the economy, its real direct and indirect impact is even greater, and forecast the T&T economy overall to generate $4.43 billion, or 18.7 percent, of economic activity in Lebanon in 2008. That would include 252,000 jobs, or one in every 5.4 jobs, representing 18.4 percent of total employment in 2008. The WTTC's definition of T&T includes transportation, accommodation, catering, recreation and services for visitors. It added that the industry's direct contribution to Lebanon's economic activity will rise to $2.3 billion, or 5.2 percent of GDP, in 2018, while the broader T&T economy will contribute $7.5 billion, or 17.1 percent of GDP, by 2018.

The WTTC projected the T&T economy in Lebanon to grow by 2.3 percent per year in real terms between 2009 and 2018 compared to 3.9 percent in the Middle East and 4 percent globally over the same period of time, while the direct industry will grow by 2.2 percent per year in real terms during the 2009-2018 period compared to 5.6 percent growth for the Middle East and 3.3 percent globally. Lebanon's T&T economy ranked 35th among 176 countries in terms of its contribution to GDP in 2008, while it ranked in 162nd place worldwide in terms of its annualized growth rate over the 2009-18 period.

Further, jobs in the T&T direct industry are forecast to reach 85,000 or 5.3 percent of total jobs in Lebanon by 2018, while employment in Lebanon's T&T economy should total 268,000 jobs overall, or one in every 5.9 jobs, equivalent to 16.8 percent of total employment by 2018. In comparison, the WTTC forecast direct industry employment in the Middle East to grow by 5.6 percent over the 2009-18 period and to account for 3.1 percent of total employment, while it forecast the T&T economy employment to grow by 2.8 percent and to account for 9.2 percent of total employment in the region. Lebanon ranked 32nd worldwide in terms of the share of its T&T economy employment out of total employment, while it came in 143rd place in the real growth rate of T&T employment over the coming 10 years.

Also, The WTTC said visitor exports, defined as expenditures by international visitors on goods and services in the resident economy, make up a very important share of T&T's contribution to GDP in Lebanon. T&T is expected to generate $3.8 billion or 26 percent of Lebanon's exports of goods and services in 2008, increasing to $6.5 billion or 24.8 percent of the total in 2018. In comparison, Travel & Tourism exports are expected to represent 6.2 percent of total exports in 2008 in the Middle East and 5.8 percent in the world, as well as 8.4 percent in the Middle East and 5.4 percent in the world in 2018. Also, Lebanon's T&T exports are expected to grow by an annualized real rate of 2.4 percent in 2009-2018, compared to growth rates of 5.7 percent for the Middle East and 5.3 percent in the world. Lebanon ranked in 39th place globally in terms of visitor exports as a share of total exports in 2008, and it came in 166th place in terms of real growth of such exports over the coming 10 years.


In parallel, the WTTC projected Travel & Tourism to post $9.1 billion in economic activity in 2008 in terms of total demand, growing to $16.8 billion by 2018. Total demand is expected to decline by 2.4 percent in 2008 and to rise by 3.2 percent per year in real terms between 2009 and 2018. Total demand represents 0.15 percent of world market share in 2008. Further, Lebanon ranked in 157th place in terms of the projected real growth rate of T&T total demand over the coming 10 years.

Additionally, The WTTC estimated capital investment in T&T at $679 million, or 14.3 percent of total investment in 2008, increasing to $1.25 billion or 14.3 percent of total by 2018. It forecast T&T capital investment in Lebanon to grow in real terms by 3.1 percent annually over the coming 10 years compared to 3.1 percent for the Middle East and 5.6 percent globally.

Finally, the WTTC estimated government expenditures on T&T at $348 million in 2008, or 9.1 percent of the total government spending. This includes operating expenditures made by government agencies on services associated with Travel & Tourism, such as tourism promotion, aviation, administration, security services and resort area sanitation services, among others. It projected such expenditures to reach $546 million in 2018 and to account for 9.3 percent of public spending. It also forecast real annualized growth rate of such spending on T&T at 1.4 percent over the 2009-20018 period compared to 5.1 percent in the Middle East and 3 percent globally. - The Daily Star

Municipality official says 'Doha agreement couldn't have come sooner' because instability had kept visitors away for three summer seasons in a row


ALEY: After three summer seasons filled with disturbing and depressing events, Aley is trying to make its way back on stage and recover its pre-Civil War title of "The Bride of Summer Resorts." Aley is the first place one approaches when going up to Mount Lebanon along the Damascus Highway - other resorts like Bhamdoun and Sofar are further up the road. After the railroad linking Beirut with Damascus was built, Aley's location became the reason tourists preferred spending their summer vacation there. The small village of Aley eventually took on the urban features of a city, with a variety of shops, restaurants and cafes spread along the main street.

Aley's nights this summer have been lasting into the wee hours, as singers serenade Aley's streets and various neighborhoods of the Mount Lebanon town, which attracts domestic and foreign visitors, mostly Gulf Arabs.

"Every night we have singers singing in our cafe," said Loay Abu Hassoun, the owner and the manager of Cafe Petit Bateau.

Even though the establishment boasts nightly live entertainment, the prices are not like those in some of Beirut's clubs with live performances, and there is no cover charge.

The cafe's waiters wear sailors' uniforms and perform a "sailor dance," inspired by the local debkeh, which attracts people to go inside and see what is happening.

Children are on the loose in Aley's streets, searching for cotton candy and entranced by horse-drawn carriages. They can go with their parents for a ride in these carriages around the resort town for $10.

Shopping is another popular activity in Aley, where the local stores try to keep up with demanding tastes.

"Our aim is to provide top elegance to ladies who care about fashion," says Heyam Madi, the owner and the manager of Al-Rabih women's wear shop.

Not everything in Aley is designed for traditional spend-spend-spend tourism. The Aley Symposium, in nearby Ras al-Jabal, offers visitors and tourists the beauty of sculptures and promotes local artists' talents.

The Symposium has become a quasi-museum, where people snap photos of the sculptures with their digital cameras and use them as postcards to send back home.

The Symposium also features spectacular scenic views that allow visitors to take a time-out from the hustle and bustle of the town's busy nightlife.

While some tourists come equipped with their own cars, car rental agencies are also benefiting from the summer season, renting out vehicles for about $45 a day as a starting price.

"People who rent cars are mainly Gulf Arabs and Lebanese who visit Lebanon frequently," said the manager of car rental agency Al-Wissam. "We have no cars left to lease," he added.


Aley's hotels are crowded with tourists from different countries, especially Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

"The summer of 2008 is good, and people are optimistic," said Akram Abu al-Hosn, the manager of Highland Hotel. "Reservations in the hotel are increasing due to the hot season, which started a few days ago. The actual summer season period is 45 days long, between July 20 and August 25."

Aley's weather, especially at night, is one of the biggest draws, especially for Gulf tourists, who come to escape the blazing heat of 45 degrees Celsius or higher back home.

"At least we can stay outdoors in the middle of the day with no heat burning our skin," said a visiting woman from Kuwait.

Isam Obeid, the secretary of Aley's municipality, said "The Doha agreement of May couldn't have come sooner, giving Aley a chance to spend its summers doing what it does best - attracting tourists."

"Summer 2008 is very promising," added Obeid, who also heads the Aley Municipality's Media and Public Relations Committee. "The assassination of the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005, the summer 2006 war with Israel, the battles in Nahr al-Bared in 2007, the explosions and the strike in Downtown Beirut were all fundamental reasons for completely calling off the whole summer vacation," he said.

Several years of instability, he continued, means that potential customers and visitors could begin to give up on a town like Aley. "Our biggest fear was the possibility of losing our standing [as a major resort]. After a summer season is repeatedly lost, people search for an alternative, but summer 2008 has helped maintain this standing."

As for the May 21 Doha agreement, which ended an outbreak of civil strife earlier in May, Obeid said it had had a positive influence on the region. "It has provided security and stability, which tourists demand," he said.

For now, competition with nearby resort towns in Mount Lebanon is not one of the preoccupations of people trying to get Aley back on the map, he added.

"Competition does not exist in Aley resorts and the neighboring area," Obeid said, "and any success achieved here serves the country as a whole."

Judging by Aley's active nightlife, the main enemy in 2008 appears to be sleep, as the tourists seemingly merge day into night, careful not to miss any opportunity for entertainment.

Hotel occupancy rates in Beirut on steady recovery
By The Daily Star

Wednesday, August 20, 2008


BEIRUT: The benchmark survey of the Middle East hotel sector by Ernst & Young indicated that occupancy rate at hotels in Beirut was 40 percent in the first half of 2008, up 4 percent from 36 percent in the same period last year. The occupancy rate in Beirut was the lowest among 22 markets in the region, as it was in the same period of 2007. Beirut posted the seventh highest growth in occupancy rates the region, but this was largely due to starting from a low base, and to the fact that occupancy rates are already very high in most regional markets, as well as to the fact that most of the covered period constitutes the low point in the tourism season in several other markets in the region. Occupancy rates at Beirut hotels were 43 percent in January, 32 percent in February, 34 percent in March, 44 percent in April and dropped to 29 percent in May 2008 due to the hostilities that took place in the capital and other areas of the country. However, occupancy jumped to 61 percent in June 2008, up from 21 percent in June 2007, following the Doha agreement. - The Daily Star

30,000 Australians invade Lebanon - for a summer visit
Emigrants coming in record numbers
By Megan Bainbridge
Special to The Daily Star
Wednesday, August 20, 2008




BEIRUT: The Australian Embassy estimates that by the end of the summer season, at least 30,000 Australians will have visited Lebanon.

This is a higher figure than in previous years due to the improved security situation and suggests that Lebanese-Australians are returning to their home country for summer vacations in increasing numbers.

"This is the first summer since 2006 that large numbers of Australian tourists have felt safe enough to return to visit Lebanon on holiday," Australian Ambassador Lyndall Sachs told The Daily Star.

Speaking from the Australian Embassy in the Beirut Central District, Sachs emphasizes the importance of connections between the two countries. She feels that many Lebanese look to Australia as a "fine example" of a multicultural society, as they make strong attempts to build tolerance between their own communities.

The majority of Australians who travel to Lebanon have personal connections with the country. Large numbers of Lebanese migrated to Australia during the Civil War. This wave of migration continued afterward, with many people seeking greater economic opportunities or the prospect of joining family members in Australia.

Many of the Lebanese who migrated to Australia were from northern coastal cities and mountain regions, such as Tripoli and the Qadisha valley, as well as from Beirut.

Many Lebanese-Australians are dual citizens and choose to travel to the region on their Lebanese, rather than Australian, passports. The embassy concedes that this makes it difficult to know exactly how many Australians are in Lebanon at any given time.

The embassy also remains unaware of the travel plans of Australian nationals unless they choose to complete the voluntary online travel register. It does estimate, however, that the number of Australian tourists drops to 15,000 in the winter months.

Given their family connections, Australians such as Joseph Khachan return to Lebanon to visit relatives rather than to explore the country's iconic sites as tourists.

After emigrating to Australia in 1967, Khachan has returned every year or two to visit remaining family and friends in Lebanon. Now retired, Khachan spends three months every summer in Ibrine, a village situated in the cool mountain air, a five-minute drive from Batroun.

"I like to be here to see family, friends and to enjoy myself," he says from his bungalow in the village.

While he enjoys these yearly vacations, Khachan concedes that his attachment to Lebanon has changed after living in Australia for over 41 years.

"Lebanon is my second country now," Khachan admits. "I am Australian."

Khachan's two brothers and sister also moved to Australia, where his children were born and raised. He estimates that 15 percent of Ibrine's approximately 8,000 residents have emigrated to Australia. Around half of these emigrants return to the village every year.


Khachan was one of the many Australian nationals who chose to remain in Lebanon during the July 2006 War. During this period, the Australian Embassy evacuated over 5,200 of the 25,000 Australians in Lebanon.

The Qadisha Valley also sees large numbers of Australians return during the summer months.

Homesick Australian visitors can shop at Bsharri's "Kangaroo Supermarket" or stroll along Kfar Sghab's Parramatta Road, named after a famous suburb in Sydney, Australia's most populous city, which is now home to many Lebanese-Australians.

There are even large road-side advertisements along the valley rim offering translation assistance "for all your visa needs at the Australian Embassy."

Tony Tauk, a resident of the Qadisha valley's largest town, Bsharri, and the capital of the qada, has 300 relatives living in Australia. These relatives return to Lebanon every one to five years and he estimates that 10 families have returned to Bsharri this summer.

Further along the Qadisha valley rim, Kfar Sghab's Tony Maroun lived in Australia for 20 years. While Maroun has returned permanently to Lebanon, he suggests that approximately 15,000 people from the picturesque mountain region have emigrated to Australia.

Maroun estimates that anywhere from one-third to two-thirds of every family in the small village of Kfar Sghab currently reside in Australia.

This emigration has left many of the small town's houses empty except for the summer months, when 20 percent of these emigrants return and re-occupy their homes.

Maroun does not seem to mind. "We have a connection with Australia" he insists, proudly joking that Kfar Sghab's residents spend more money in the village's public phone booth calling Australian relatives than in any other town in Lebanon.

There is a longer connection between the two countries that extends beyond recent emigration trends.

Three plaques erected at the entrance to the Nahr al-Kalb valley commemorate the presence of the Australian armed forces in Lebanon. Australians entered Lebanon as part of a wider force in 1918. In 1941 the First Australian Corps captured Damour as part of a regional campaign that was "bringing freedom to Syria and The Lebanon," according to a second plaque.

Another plaque also commemorates the engineers of the Australian Railway Construction Group finished the Beirut to Tripoli railway line in 1942.

Unlike the military-related interactions of earlier connections between the two countries, tourism and visits to relatives will be Australia's only interventions in Lebanon this summer.

I posted that in another thread. ^^

Are you number 30,000 Jayme? :)

pffftt NO, Im number 1 :P

lol I would be like number 100,000, Since I will be in Lebanon in December.

^^ur welcome feet at home

فيصل الفهد من الرياض: كشفت مصادر أمنية في لبنان لـإيلاف أن عدد السياح السعوديين الذين دخلوا لبنان وصولوا إلى عشرين ألف سائح خلال الشهرين الماضيين، مشيرين إلى أن عدد السياح السعوديين قد إنخفض خلال السنتين الماضيتين بمعدل 300% .

وقال المصدر الذي كان متفائلاً جدا من حيث أعداد السياح، إن إقبال السياح وخاصة السعوديين بهذا العدد بعد أول صيف يشهده لبنان منذ الحرب التي قامت بين حزب الله والإسرائيليين في جنوب لبنان في صيف عام 2006م، أن ذلك يبشر بمضاعفة عدد السياح خلال الصيف القادم مما سيأخذ لبنان لازدهار سياحي كان فقده منذ زمن ، موضحاً أن أخر إحصائية للسياح السعوديين في لبنان كانت في صيف 2006م قبل بدء الحرب حيث وصل عدد السياح إلى خمسة وثمانون ألف سائح سعودي خلال شهر والنصف شهر، ومنذ ذلك الحين لم يتعد السعوديون القادمون إلى لبنان الألاف حتى تبين لنا هذا الصيف أن السعوديين أقبلوا للعودة لقضاء صيفهم في بيروت.

واشار المصدر إلى انه لم تسجل الأجهزة الأمنية اللبنانية أي حوادث جنائية أو أمنية تضر بلبنان على السياح السعوديين، مؤكدا أن التقارير سجلت ان تقريبا كافة السعوديين وصلوا إلى لبنان عن طريق مطار رفيق الحرير الدولي، ولم تسجل إلى نسب فردية دخلت لبنان عن طريق البر من سوريا .

ومن الجهة الاستثمارية فأنه يعتزم مستثمرون سعوديون العودة إلى لبنان مجددا وضخ استثمارات جديدة،و توقعت مصادر اقتصادية أنها تفوق إثنان مليار دولار وذلك من خلال شراء أصول عقارية سكنية أو سياحية.

ويؤكد عدد من الموظفين - في مكاتب السفر في السعودية - أن ارتفاع معدلات حجوزات السفر من الأسر السعودية يعود بعد اتفاق الأطراف اللبنانية، وانتخاب رئيس للبلاد، وخاصة مع خصوصية لبنان بالنسبة للسعوديين.

وكانت الأطراف اللبنانية المتنازعة قد وقعت قبل ثلاثة أشهر اتفاق الدوحة، الذي أنهى الفراغ الرئاسي الذي وضع لبنان خارج الخريطة العالمية على مدى أشهر طويلة.

ويرجع عدد من المراقبين سبب هذا الإقبال الكبير خلال الشهرين الماضيين على الرغم من أن الأمور لم تستقر بعد، أن لبنان له خصوصية كبيرة في نفوس السياح السعوديين، على خلاف بعض الدول العربية والأوروبية والشرق آسيوية، لما يمتلكه من مواقع سياحية، وأجواء طبيعية جاذبة للسياح على مستوى الخليج، ومستوى السعودية على وجه التحديد وما يلاقونه من إستقبال مرحب لدى وصولهم الى لبنان.

وكانت السعودية قد نصحت مواطنيها في ذروة الأزمة الأخيرة على تجنب السفر إلى لبنان، ويشكل السعوديين الجانب الأكبر من حركة السياحة إلى لبنان.

وكانت السياحة تشكل نحو خمس الناتج المحلي اللبناني قبل انهيار القطاع من جراء الحرب الأهلية بين عامي 1975 و1990، ويقول خبراء الصناعة إن القطاع يستطيع النمو إلى 12% من حجم الاقتصاد إذا تمتعت لبنان بفترة ممتدة من الهدوء.

من جانبه، وصف مدير عام طيران الشرق الأوسط اللبناني "ميدل إيست" في السعودية مقداد المقداد إقبال السعوديين على السفر إلى لبنان بأنه رهيب ولم يكن متوقعا بهذا الحجم خاصة خلال هذه المدة القصيرة.

وقال المقداد إن مكاتب الشركة في السعودية طلبت تعزيز الشركة الأم لرحلات إضافية من عدد من المدن السعودية، جراء طلبات الحجوزات الرهيبة، عقب توقيع اتفاق الدوحة.

ووصف الطلبات الهاتفية التي يتلقونها بشكل يومي بأنها بلغت بالآلاف، مشيرا إلى تغيير وجهات عدد كبير من الأسر السعودية التي كانت تنوي السفر وقضاء الإجازة الصيفية في دول أخرى؛ حيث قامت بتغيير وجهة سفرها إلى لبنان عقب اتفاق الدوحة.

وقال إن عودة حركة الطيران إلى وضعها الطبيعي فرجت الأزمة على آلاف الأسر اللبنانية القاطنة في السعودية، التي أعاقت الأحداث ترددهم بالسفر إلى بلادهم.

وكانت حركة السفر والسياحة في لبنان قد تعرضت للشلل خلال العامين الماضيين، من قبل السياح السعوديين والخليجيين، بسبب عدم الاتفاق السياسي الذي تعرض له لبنان، وهو ما أرهق الكثير من اللبنانيين، الذين يجدون في مواسم الصيف مجالا خصبا لهم، من حيث حركتهم التجارية والسياحية.

وقدرت مصادر حجم استثمارات السعوديين في لبنان حاليا بنحو 16 مليار ريال، وصنفت بثلاث فئات الأولى عقارية والثانية تجارية والثالثة خدماتية، ويعتبر الاسثتمار السعودي في المجال العقاري الأكبر، وحجمه 300 مليون دولار، منها 85% استثمارات في الأراضي، و 15% مستثمرة في مبان سكنية.

when you post an artcle in Arabic, can you please at least translate the main parts in English ?

so sad to see lebanese has forgotten their mother language:ohno:
u need to learn some arabi man:bash:

Lebanese snap up moment of stability to party
The Associated PressPublished: August 22, 2008


BEIRUT, Lebanon: After three years of back-to-back crises, assassinations and war, this divided country has a window of stability, and Lebanese are jumping at the chance to party again.

Tourists are flooding back in, summer festivals have revved up, and restaurants and resorts are packed only months after the small Arab nation was thought to be on the brink of civil war and eventual breakup.

"We're on fire," said Osta Abu Rejaili, mayor of the mountain resort town of Bhamdoun. Perhaps rarely for Lebanon, he means that in a good way: Bhamdoun is crowded with thousands of tourists from Kuwait, Qatar and United Arab Emirates drawn by its cool summer air. "I've been mayor for 10 years and we haven't seen anything like this."

Lebanese have always taken pride in living the good life as much as possible, even during the bitter 1975-1990 civil war. But the speed with which they have rebounded in these few weeks is startling, perhaps fueled by fears the good times won't last.

The buoyant mood follows what looked like Lebanon's darkest hour. In May, pro-Syrian Shiite Muslim Hezbollah militants overran Sunni Muslim neighborhoods, defeating armed supporters of the pro-Western government in street battles. It appeared three years of power struggle between the two sides could lead to a slide into civil war again.

Instead, the two sides hammered out a political agreement, mediated by Qatar, that created a unity government with greater power for Hezbollah.

The outcome is a loss for Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, who's backed by the U.S. and other Western nations. The unity government ensures that Syria, a top U.S. rival in the region, retains a say in Lebanon's politics and that Hezbollah can keep its weapons.

But at the moment, most average Lebanese don't care who came out on top. They're just enjoying the peace.

"Frankly, I can't stand listening to them speak anymore," said Nathalie Demirdjian, a sales executive at a Beirut eyewear boutique, referring to the country's squabbling politicians. "It's dirty politics. They don't care about the people and all they care about is their interests."

The new mood became clear in late July, when more than 12,000 Lebanese cheered wildly at a concert by Lebanese-American pop singer Mika in downtown Beirut's Martyrs' Square. A few weeks before, thousands of faithful turned out for a joyous ceremony as a papal envoy beatified a Lebanese Christian monk in the square.

In the once-empty downtown streets near the square, cafes are full of men and women at umbrella-topped tables dining, drinking and smoking waterpipes, entertained by oud players — the oud is an Arab lute — and other traditional musicians. Children of the wealthy — trailed by Asian maids — play with balloons and slurp at ice cream cones.

It's a grand reopening for a district at the center of Lebanese life in war and peace. Martyrs' Square is named for Lebanese nationalists, both Christian and Muslim, who were hanged in 1916 for rising against Ottoman Turkish rule. It was a busy tourist area in Lebanon's brightest days before the civil war and then was the front line during the war.

For the past three years, the area was ground zero for everything going wrong in Lebanon, from the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in a car bombing in 2005 to protests over the past 18 months organized by Hezbollah that tried unsuccessfully to oust Saniora.

During this mayhem, Lebanon had to endure still more violence. In 2006, a monthlong war between Israel and Hezbollah devastated the country's south, and months of battles last year between the Lebanese military and Islamic militants left hundreds dead in the north.

Now, getting a taste of calm, the Lebanese are enjoying life again — and making money.

Mediterranean beaches are packed. Mountain and coastal towns have revived summer festivals put on hold during the troubles. One village even advertised a "church bell ringing contest" — a test of strength to show who can keep the heavy tower bells tolling longest.

In June and July, nearly half a million passengers flew into Beirut airport, compared to about 300,000 for the same period last year.

Many are Arabs from the Gulf, flush with oil cash and eager to enjoy Lebanon's temperate weather and open lifestyle, a heritage from Christian Lebanese and Beirut's role as the crossing point between Europe and the Middle East. Unlike at home, the Gulf Arabs find alcohol, nightclubs and women in Western clothes that don't hide their charms.

During evenings in downtown Beirut, women from Gulf countries, some enveloped head-to-toe in black, others decked out in tight jeans swinging designer handbags, hit the expensive boutiques and restaurants. In Jounieh to the north, Gulf men in white robes crowd the gambling tables at the Casino du Liban — another entertainment banned at home — alongside Iraqis, Syrians and Jordanians.

The Gulf Arabs have flooded Bhamdoun, where at night it's cool enough to need a jacket, a far cry from the blazing 104 degrees Fahrenheit typical during August in Riyadh or Abu Dhabi.

Demand for apartments is so high in Bhamdoun, a town of 7,000 about 20 minutes drive from Beirut, that some residents are renting out their homes for up to US$300 (450,000 Lebanese pounds) a night while staying with family elsewhere. Bhamdoun traffic is gridlocked until the late hours, the cellular network is struggling to keep up with demand, and lines form at automatic teller machines.

Abu Rejaili, the mayor, hopes Lebanon will finally see investments from the Gulf that have benefited other Arab countries. "The petrodollar has hovered over Lebanon for a long time and now it is landing and will not leave," he said.

There are still some worry spots. An Aug. 13 bus bombing in the northern city of Tripoli blamed by many on Islamic militants killed 18 soldiers and civilians — the deadliest attack since 21 people died in the Hariri car bombing.

How long stability lasts depends on whether Hezbollah and Saniora's supporters can get along in the unity government. The frictions have been clear: It took more than two months after the May agreement for the factions to finally agree on a Cabinet.

But many rival politicians now say they want to work together at least until the next scheduled election in early 2009.

George Murad, a Lebanese telecommunications executive who works in Brazil but regularly returns home, noted that many in Beirut are convinced the calm is only temporary. "So," he added, "people want to enjoy it while it lasts."

so sad to see lebanese has forgotten their mother language:ohno:
u need to learn some arabi man:bash:


, besides, the the rules stated by Beiruti and Nadini, to translate artcles to English.

English should be the primary language used in this forum; Arabic and French are permitted ONLY if a translation is provided. This is so that our forum can be the most welcoming to people of all backgrounds and because English is the most commonly used language internationally.


so I can read arabic or write Arabic. but I speak it.

edit.

so sad to see lebanese has forgotten their mother language:ohno:
u need to learn some arabi man:bash:

Jayme was born and raised his whole life in Australia ... it's not fair to expect him to read arabic

BEIRUT: The Tourism Ministry said the number of tourists coming to Lebanon in the first seven months of 2008 rose by 28 percent compared to the same period of 2007. The total number of tourists reached 690,180 at end of July 2008, up from 539,027 in the same period last year. Total number of tourists registered in the month of July alone stood at 216,606. The ministry said the number of Arab visitors ranked first with 95,032 tourists, of whom with 25,666 were Jordanians, 18,812 were Kuwaitis and 18,574 were Saudis. European and American tourists ranked at second and third place with 60,012 and 29,055 arrivals respectively.

Seriously i m lebanese and i don t understand how a country can turn 180 degrees in less than 6 months, no wonder we have the reputation of being the most f**ked up country in the world

http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2008/09/09/perry.lebanon.tourism.rebound.cnn

P.S. that bus in bhamdoun at 0:50 is sssooo tacky it makes me wanna puke hehe

edited

Awesome isnt it? :)

There was a similar "bus" in Aley...lol...those khalijis tourists makes me laugh, while I was in Bhamdoun, I was taking a photo of this "bus" and a young khaliji boy told me from up there "what are you photographing?" I was like "hello? We're in Lebanon here, I can take photos anywhere I want (well...I thought of it, I didn't say it :D)

BEIRUT: Tourism Minister Elie Marouni on Wednesday launched the Arab World Travel and Tourism Exhibition (AWTTE) that is to be held at Beirut International Exhibition and Leisure Center (BIEL) from October 16 to 19. "This event is organized by the Tourism Ministry and Al-Iktissad Wal-Aamal Group in cooperation with Middle East Airlines and tourism syndicates in Lebanon," Marouni told a news conference held at his ministry.

He said Lebanon had missed this exhibition during the past two years "due to well-known security and political reasons."

"The organization of AWTTE this year proves the importance of this event and our determination to keep it as a regular activity and bring it back on the agenda of Arab and foreign institutions working in the tourist sector," he said.

Marouni also voiced satisfaction with this summer's "special" tourist season.

"The flow of tourists calls on us to confirm the competitive tourist characteristics that typify Lebanon when it comes to its weather, nature and culture," he said. "Such real wealth should not be wasted for any political reason. Tourism in Lebanon should be an economic stimulant all year round."

The minister also expressed his readiness to make use of all of the ministry's potential, which he termed "modest," to support and encourage tourism within a comprehensive strategy.


"Publicizing Lebanon with all means while focusing on the main markets, particularly the Arab countries in addition to other European and Asian, will be on top of the strategy's priorities," Marouni said. "This strategy will also promote cooperation with the private sector due to the latter's vital role when it comes to its hotels, tourist offices and restaurants."

This regional travel tradeshow allows participants to gain insight into the latest industry trends and network with government officials on subjects that matter most to the sector.

Raouf Abu Zaki, chairman of Al-Iktissad Wal-Aamal Group, said that AWTTE "is meant to assert Lebanon's future in tourism and confidence in the Lebanese economy's ability to adapt to shocks."

"To date, AWTTE 2008 has registered 12 countries whose national pavilions include airlines, hotels and travel agencies," Abu Zaki said. "And negotiations are being held with eight others."

Asked about the effect of political reconciliation on tourism, Marouni said: "There is no flourishing tourism without political and security stability. We hope that President Michel Sleiman's call to hold a dialogue table on September 16 will constitute an opportunity to strengthen stability." - The Daily Star

i went downtown yesterday ,tourists are all over the place and im not talking gulf ...there was everything from danish to italian to swedish ,american and yemenites all with tourist guides and busses and big-fat filled to the top shopping bags :D..good for us

Talking about non-gulf tourists...last summer i saw 2 spanish couples in Barbar, Hamra with tourist guides, just like you said.

I don't know, but I feel the most loved city by french and europeens in general is Byblos...everytime I go there I see a lot of french and europeens, and less gulf tourists...

Talking about non-gulf tourists...last summer i saw 2 spanish couples in Barbar, Hamra with tourist guides, just like you said.

I don't know, but I feel the most loved city by french and europeens in general is Byblos...everytime I go there I see a lot of french and europeens, and less gulf tourists...

b/c european tourists mainly go to lebanon for the history and the historical sites, unlike the gulf tourists who are more interested in partying and women in mini-skirts :nuts::lol::nuts:

^^ Not only that,they come to Lebanon mainly because it's close to their countries and we speak Arabic and the weather is gr8,not to mention our food and that we know hoe to treat tourists in a civilized way.

Beirut makes Lonely Planet’s list of top ten cities for 2009
October 17, 2008

Beirut was listed as one of the ten liveliest cities by the Lonely Planet list of the Top 10 Cities for 2009. The guide cites covert political assassinations, airborne invasions by foreign powers, and the world-famous night life as indicators of Beirut’s liveliness set against an ancient yet hip backdrop. It mentioned the Beirut International Film Festival, the bi-annual Souk al-Bargout and the Beirut Marathon as events to look out for, and listed Gemmayzeh’s Le Chef restaurant as a place to eat. Also on the list, which was not ranked, were Antwerp, Chicago, Mexico City, Glasgow, Sao Paolo, Shanghai, Warsaw, Lisbon and Zurich.

-NOW Staff

Beirut makes Lonely Planet’s list of top ten cities for 2009
October 17, 2008

Beirut was listed as one of the ten liveliest cities by the Lonely Planet list of the Top 10 Cities for 2009. The guide cites covert political assassinations, airborne invasions by foreign powers, and the world-famous night life as indicators of Beirut’s liveliness set against an ancient yet hip backdrop. It mentioned the Beirut International Film Festival, the bi-annual Souk al-Bargout and the Beirut Marathon as events to look out for, and listed Gemmayzeh’s Le Chef restaurant as a place to eat. Also on the list, which was not ranked, were Antwerp, Chicago, Mexico City, Glasgow, Sao Paolo, Shanghai, Warsaw, Lisbon and Zurich.

-NOW Staff

We should be proud... :ohno: :bash:

A Rising Star?
Beirut is in the Lonely Planet’s 2009 Top Ten Cities, prompting mixed feelings from Beirutis
Alice Fordham, NOW Staff , October 17, 2008

http://www.nowlebanon.com/ContentPictures/main-pic8975-101708082315.jpg
Celebrating New Year's Eve and watching fireworks in downtown Beirut in 2005. (AFP/Ramzi Haidar)

Here at NOW Extra, Beirut is always number one. Nevertheless, it is pleasing to see it alongside Antwerp and Shanghai on the Lonely Planet list of the Top 10 Cities for 2009. Lonely Planet’s descriptions of argileh smoke and high-grade sushi against a backdrop of political uncertainty should tempt plenty to come and visit. But what about the people here already? Did something special make the city number one for them? Or did they think Beirut was a troubled place being hyped by an overexcited travel company? NOW Extra headed to the streets and asked people where they thought Beirut’s appeal lay. The range of views was wide. But at least no one was moving to Antwerp.

Aya Haddad, consultant, 40, Biyada
It’s the people, the spirit, the urge to live and to have fun no matter what happens. We have fun like no other people, and we like people. Basically that’s it. We like people and we are very open to other cultures and we can relate to other cultures. And we really like to invest in making other people like our city.

Raja Kanafani, 41, photographer, Monot
Beirut is a busy town. A lot of travelers come through and there is something that pulls them to come…the controversy maybe…but a lot come and stay beyond their course, or their journalism. It is a way of life and somehow Beirut has this appeal. We are not the most organized city but there is something that appeals to the younger generation, and Beirut has always been a crossroads for people going through the region. They come to learn Arabic and when they get here they see that is art and culture. We are open-minded, we are not fanatics, and there is a lot going on. There is more freedom than in other Arab countries. There is a desire for people to live and party. We have come through so much.

Muhammad Ali, 26, delivery worker, Hamra
Beirut is not one of the top cities in the world. The work is not good here. The life is difficult. There is no future. The place is nice and the people are good but there is no future and no happiness – whether you study or don’t study, it is the same. There are not good jobs here, and the money is not good at the end of the month. Everything is difficult.

Dalal Baz, 24, waitress, Achrafiyeh
From Beirut you can go wherever you want in Lebanon - it is a centre for all things. Before, it was divided into Muslims here and Christians here, but now you see that we are living together. There is no more division. The reviving of the old quarters like Gemmayzeh and down town is good. Beirut was too old and now that it has been revived it gives it life and fun.

Roy Nasr, shop manager, Achrafiyeh, 25
Beirut has a mixture of all the cultures, but at the same time is has its own spirit. Although you have modern buildings and new things, it is a not artificial because it always has the same spirit. You can find entertainment any time of the day or night.

“Antony”, drinking coffee in Gemmayze
I do not think there is anything special in Beirut. It is cosmopolitan, but it is very ugly. It is an exciting place, though.

Nadine Orosa, 42, visiting Beirut from Dubai
I would say the people have an amazing energy and resilience here. It is a great place to party. And I am a connoisseur of partying so I can say this.

Femma Barsoum, bookshop worker, 24, Furn-el-Chebek
I don’t find it special here. There is a lot of traffic, although it is exciting to live here. Lebanese people don’t like Lebanon, because of war and because they have no money.

Rawan, 22, Jezzine
I think Beirut is lively because of its diversity. My favorite place is downtown, but I also like small, mellow pubs.

Tala, 25, Beirut
When it comes to traffic, when it comes to drugs, when it comes to going out, going to restaurants—That’s why we’re called lively... It’s one of the most fun cities. I love Beirut. Beirut is a hustle every day. Even though we have loads of traffic, it’s always alive. You can never find an empty street in Beirut. You can always find people to keep you company… I just love the streets of Beirut. I love Hamra in particular. I believe Hamra is becoming the liveliest place despite the fact that Gemmayzeh has bigger places. Hamra is regaining its status as the center of going out.

BEIRUT: It was once known as one of the most dangerous cities on earth, with the mere mention of its name conjuring up images of civil war, kidnap and destruction. But Beirut's revival as one of the world's most vibrant cities has been confirmed by the travel guidebook company Lonely Planet, who have named it one of the 10 most lively cities on the planet.

The guidebook publishers have placed the capital on a par with Shanghai, Lisbon and Mexico City on a list which will appear in a new "Best in Travel" guidebook to be published next month.

Rather than glossing over Beirut's difficult past, the travel company cites it as part of what makes the city unique.

The authors pay tribute to the revival seen since the end of the devastating 1975-1990 Civil War that left large parts of the city in ruins. "Beirut really took a beating during the Lebanon's long civil war," the guidebook states. "The city underwent a major transformation in the years following the cessation of hostilities, particularly in the downtown area, and it's now a city of vibrancy and charm."


Beirut's reputation as the party capital of the Middle East, combined with the ongoing political uncertainty that plagues Lebanon makes for a heady mix, the book suggests. It cites major events such as the Beirut

International Film Festival and the annual Beirut Marathon as evidence that the city that used to be known as the "Paris of the Middle East" is on its way back to its former glory.

Other cities on the new list range from the sedate Belgian city of Antwerp to the tough Scottish industrial city of Glasgow. The Chinese boom-town of Shanghai, Portuguese capital Lisbon and Polish capital Warsaw all appear, as well as Switzerland's second city, Zurich, Brazil's Sao Paulo and Mexico City.

Ministry of Tourism, Research and Studies Service, Statistics Department

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g240/Jamie_Y/table-en-101008045953.jpg



Now Lebanon

^^2008 isn't over yet.

only the first 7 months of 2008 r counted ;)

lol thats why you should read the headings first.

The Ministry of Tourism predicted 1.6 million for 2008

The current count is 984,000 in the first 9 months.. Its a 28.5% increase over last year..October should be be very good because of the feast,,,The are expecting allot of tourists for AdHA and Christmas

Where did you get that figure from ?

Banque Audi economic report which is published weekly

Metropolitan Palace Hotel Beirut wins two coveted awards at the 15th World Travel Awards


30 October 2008
In the recently concluded 15th World Travel Awards, the Metropolitan Palace Hotel Beirut won two awards in 'Lebanon's Leading Hotel' and 'Lebanon's Leading Business Hotel' categories.


The glittering event took place at The Atlantis, Palm Jumeirah on 28th October 2008. Mr. Warwick Janes - Operations Manager, Habtoor Hotels received the prestigious awards on behalf of the hotel.


The Metropolitan Palace Hotel, one of the first properties of the Dubai based Habtoor Hotels in Lebanon, is located 10 minutes away from the Beirut International Airport and is within the easy reach of the key business districts of the city.


This uniquely designed hotel combines state of the art technology with outstanding Middle Eastern hospitality, making it the perfect choice for both the business and leisure traveler. With the winning of the World Travel Awards, the Metropolitan Palace Hotel Beirut reaches a new pinnacle of achievement.


Hailed by the Wall Street Journal as the "travel industry's equivalent to the Oscars", the World Travel Awards are considered the most prestigious event on the travel calendar with more than 167,000 travel professionals voting worldwide.


World Travel Awards acknowledges and celebrates those organizations that have made the greatest contribution to the global tourism and travel trade. It also recognizes those who are driving the industry to greater heights and innovations.


Brainchild of British entrepreneur, Graham Cooke, World Travel Awards dates back to 1993, with the event being hosted in different destinations from New York to London, St. Lucia and Barbados, the Turks & Caicos Islands and Dubai.


World Travel Awards offers the perfect platform from which leading industry brands can maximize their world-wide exposure and capitalize on the potential that association with the prestigious WTA brand provides.

- Ends -

Lebanon expects 2.3 million visitors by end of year
By Dana Halawi
Special to The Daily Star
Wednesday, November 12, 2008

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BEIRUT: Tourism Minister Elie Marouni said on Tuesday that around 2.3 million people would visit Lebanon by the end of this year. But the minister stressed that a big chunk of these visitors are Lebanese living abroad. He added that the aim is to drive this number up to 3 million in the near future, which will increase the tourism sector's contribution to gross domestic product from 9 to 20 percent.

"This places a huge responsibility on the private sectors, namely the banking and financial sectors, for them to be able to satisfy the growing needs of comers who wish to deposit their money in Lebanese banks. It also holds the public sector responsible of maintaining a good infrastructure and be ready to host the huge amount of visitors providing them with transportations to hotels and residences," said Marouni.

His remarks came during a news conference organized by Visa at the Phoenicia InterContinental Hotel to discuss the influence of electronic payments on the tourism industry while examining how Lebanon can take advantage of various opportunities to achieve greater success in the sector.

According to Tony Gougassian, Visa Inc. area manager for Qatar and the Levant, tourism spending in Lebanon has been positively influenced by the growing use of electronic payments in the country.


"Tourism spending using electronic payments grew by 12 percent between 2004 and 2007 and reached 25 percent of the total tourism spending in Lebanon this year," Gougassian told The Daily Star.

Visa operates the world's largest retail electronic payments network providing processing services and payment product platforms. According to the corporation's statistics, payments volume worldwide using Visa grew 15 percent between 2007 and 2008 to reach $699 billion.

Gougassian stressed on the implications that e-commerce has for the Lebanese tourism, saying that it has given rise to a new channel, which will help drive business and economic growth in the future.

Marouni emphasized the important role that the Lebanese tourism sector plays in driving the local economy forward.

"This forum does not only highlight the attributes of e-payment solutions, but it also offers a space for us all, as specialists in the field, to come together and strengthen the performance of key economic sectors in Lebanon such as the financial, industrial and agricultural sectors," said Marouni.

Number of Tourists Up To October 2008
On the tourism front, Ministry of Tourism statistics unveil an annual 28.9% rally in the number of tourists’ arrivals to Lebanon during the first ten months of 2008. The total number of tourists reached 1,103,168 as at end of October, up from 855,932 in the same period last year.

During the month of October alone, Lebanon managed to attract some 119,583 tourists. Furthermore, the Ministry’s publication revealed that during the month of October, the number of Arab tourists occupied the first place (55,116 tourists) with 20,037 Jordanian arrivals (36.35% of total Arab tourists), 10,073 Saudi-Arabian arrivals (18.28% of total Arab tourists), and 8,402 Iraqi arrivals (15.24% of total Arab tourists). European and Asian tourists occupied the second and third place with 32,019 and 15,686 arrivals respectively
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On track for 1.3....The article i posted was wrong...They meant 1.3 and 2 million goal...The numbers make more sense ..

Saudi Al Hokair To Launch $1B Property Proj In Lebanon-Report



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Wednesday, Dec 03, 2008

BEIRUT (Zawya Dow Jones)--Saudi-based Abdul Mohsen Al Hokair Tourism & Development GroupAbdul Mohsen Al Hokair Tourism & Development Group plans to launch a tourism, entertainment and commercial project in Lebanon, with total investments of more than $1 billion, Al Riyadh daily reports Wednesday.

The project will be named Cedar of Lebanon and will cover an area of more than 1 million square meters, the paper reports, citing Abdul Mohsen Al Hokair, the company's chairman.

The project, which will take the shape of the cedar tree, will be financed by investors from Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and from other Gulf countries, Hokair said according to the paper.

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman has promised to support the project, he added.


Is this the cedar island?!!!

^^ seems so..... i think 1 b$ could be used better , maybe something original !

At the world Tourism Expo 2008

bwTO6252BeA

Breaking News : yesterday on December 6,2008 .80 commercial airplanes landed in Raffic Harriri Beirut International Airport bringing with them 9927 TOURISTS!!!!!!!! The airport has never seen so much commotion and activity since 2003 and khaleejies have officially invaded the country (moan :P) anyways traffic jams have increased due to the huge influx of tourists which is expected to quadruple over the next few days and continue rising till mid-february 2009 and Eli Marouni (minister of tourism) says : all Beirut and Mount-Lebanon hotels have been fully-booked for the next 2 months of festivities and the number of tourists expected to arrive in lebanon by the end of 2008 is 1,600,000 tourists a number which is expected to increase 10% (9.97 actually ) by summer 2009. Monot /Gemmayze /Hamra /Ain Mreisse /Downtown /Achrafieh are packed with people and that was just yesterday ..the days to come are surely and hopefully going to be much more exiting and eventfull

^^ I expected that :) Thanx for the good news !!!!!!!

This year's NYE is going to be the best ever :)

^^ :D welcome and yes by far nchalla it will be the best NYE

Beirut is getting 6 new 5* hotels next year says eli marouni (openings ) and 9 new ones to be constructed starting early 2009

Beirut is getting 6 new 5* hotels next year says eli marouni (openings ) and 9 new ones to be constructed starting early 2009

Really? that's great for luxury tourism in Lebanon, and do u know by any chance which hotels are these 6 that are opening next year??? thx

^^Four seasons and Hilton among the 5 hotels.

^^Le Gray also ..

^^ and the rotana raouche suites

Sunny times return for Lebanon tourism
1 hour ago

BEIRUT (AFP) — Sunny times are back for Lebanon's tourism industry, enjoying its best year since 2004, though clouds may lie ahead if the risk of violence around the spring elections puts people off booking for 2009.

"The number of foreign visitors will reach 1.3 million people for the whole of 2008, the same total as in 2004," said Nada Sardouk, director general of the tourism ministry for the country on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean.

National carrier Middle East Airlines has done even better than in 2004, according to Nizar Khoury, the marketing director, who said: "We registered a 25 percent increase in passenger numbers in 2008" compared with four years ago.

"Flights for the holidays (the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha, Christmas and New Year) are full and many others could not make the trip because the hotels are fully booked," he told AFP.

Before its 1975-1990 civil war, Lebanon was the playground of the Middle East, generating up to 20 percent of its gross domestic product from tourism, according to the government.

It is the only country in the Arab world with natural ski slopes, as well as being famous for its beaches, history, restaurants and nightlife.

This year visitors thronged the country's beaches from early summer, encouraged by the relatively stable political situation since May following the Doha agreement which ended three years of at times violent internal disputes.

After the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri in Beirut in 2005, the country has suffered a series of crisis.

One after the other came political murders, the destructive war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, deadly battles in a Palestinian refugee camp in 2007 between the army and Islamists, a political showdown and violent confrontation in May that killed more than 65 people.

For hotels, restaurants and car hire firms, the relative calm of the second half of 2008 was a huge relief.

"The occupancy rate at hotels was 100 percent for the holidays, taking the rate to more than 70 percent in Greater Beirut for the last six months. It is a very good figure," said Pierre Ashkar, chairman of the hoteliers' federation.

"We are fully booked for the New Year with a very high waiting list," said Joanne Zarife, in charge of marketing at the Intercontinental Mzaar hotel, near the ski slopes in the Lebanese mountains.

"It was an excellent year," said Paul Aariss, president of the restaurateurs' association, noting that 360 new licences were granted in 2008 for restaurants requiring big investment.

This year also brought good business for car rental companies, with registrations jumping 50 percent for this type of vehicle, the tourism ministry said.

Another sign of a return to normality is that Syrian visitors are coming back, Sardouk said, after a big drop in numbers following the Hariri murder, which many blamed on Syria though Damascus denies it.

However, fears are widespread that any fresh trouble could reverse the rebound.

"The problem is that tourism is extremely vulnerable and the season can be written off on the slightest security incident," Sardouk said.

The situation in Lebanon remains uncertain with the approach of the general election and an increase in political tension between the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority and the minority led by the Shiite Hezbollah movement.

Britain last week lifted a warning notice to its citizens travelling to Lebanon but many other countries still regard it as a risky place to visit.

Even Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain, which in February advised their nationals against coming to Lebanon, "have yet to change their opinion," Sardouk said.

"Next year, we already know that occupancy rates for April and May will drop to around 30 or 40 percent," Ashkar said.

"Foreigners realise that the situation is uncertain and say: 'We'll see after the election'," the hoteliers' leader said.

Lebanon is to try to offset the possible downturn by launching an international promotional project next week.

Latest survey shows major progress for Beirut hotels
By The Daily Star

Saturday, December 27, 2008

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BEIRUT: A benchmark survey of the Middle East hotel sector by Ernst & Young indicated that the occupancy rate at hotels in Beirut was 53 percent in the first 10 months of 2008, up 16 percent from 37 percent in the same period last year, as reported by Lebanon This Week, the economic publication of the Byblos Bank Group.

The occupancy rate in Beirut was the lowest among 22 markets in the region, as it was in the same period of 2007. Beirut posted the highest growth in occupancy rates in the region, but this was largely due to starting from a low base in the first months of the year, as well as significant improvement in the summer months and the fact that occupancy rates are already very high in most regional markets.

The survey said average rate per room at Beirut hotels was $167 in the first 10 months of 2008, ranking the capital's hotels as the 14th most expensive in the region ahead of Al-Ain in the United Arab Emirates, Amman in Jordan and all markets in Egypt. The average rate per room in local currency at Beirut hotels increased by 28.9 percent year-on-year and posted the fourth highest increase among all markets in the region. The average rate per room in Beirut came below the regional average of $193, which jumped by 19.7 percent from $161 in the first 10 months of 2007. But the average room rate in Beirut in October jumped by 8.4 percent from October 2007, the 18th highest such rise in the region.


Occupancy rates at Beirut hotels were 43 percent in January, 32 percent in February, 34 percent in March, 44 percent in April and dropped to 29 percent in May 2008 due to the hostilities that took place in the capital and other areas of the country. But occupancy jumped to 61 percent in June 2008, following the Doha Accord. Occupancy continued to improve to 69 percent in July and soared to 91 percent in August, the peak month for tourism in Lebanon, and declined to 50 percent in September and picked up again to 82 percent in October. In comparison, hotel occupancy was 21 percent in June, 41 percent in July, 46 percent in August, 37 percent in September and 41 percent in October 2007. Beirut hotels had an occupancy rate of 35 percent for all of 2007. - The Daily Star

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/01/11/travel/20090111_DESTINATIONS.html

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/01/11/travel/20090111_DESTINATIONS.html

Here is a nice comment I read:

January 10, 2009 8:59 pm

Beirut is definitely an amazing place, happy to see the NY Times recognize it! I was there this past summer and could not believe how much energy and life there was. The food was also superb, and I am not just talking about Lebanese food, other cuisines were present and delightful. Beirut is not all there is to see however, the mountains surrounding the city make for a great day trip and fantastic views of the Meditteranean. Highly recommended place!
— Sam, New York

We are just missing direct flights from the US! Come on! :) Side note i read that the middle east is poised for the highest percentage increase of air traffic this year..I hope Lebanon benefits

Marouni expects a flare-up of tourism in 2009
iloubnan.info - January 12, 2009, 11h08

BEIRUT - In an interview with al-Diyar daily on Monday, Tourism minister Elie Marouni said that 2009 would witness an unprecedented number of tourists in Lebanon, adding that investors, Lebanese and foreigners, were heading toward investing in big projects in the country.

Marouni said that he sought to ensure proper infrastructure, so touristic projects would encompass all Lebanon. He added that the sector was not affected by the international financial crisis.

Figures released for 2008 show 1.38 m tourists...It almost broke the all time record in 1974 of 1.4..

Im sure well surpass that this year. 2008 figures really missed stability in the first half of the year..so i think we will see grwth year on year

And it begins...:)

Tourism Ministry reports tourism increased by 22.74%
February 18, 2009

The Surveys Department in the Ministry of Tourism issued a report saying the number of tourists in January 2009 reached 77,308, an improvement of 22.74% over January of last year.

The report added that the number of Arab visitors, the most numerous in Lebanon, grew by 38.17%, amounting to 33,468 tourists.

European visitors ranked second at 19,455, Asian visitors third at 11,740, and American visitors fourth at 8,771.

-NOW Staff

^^2009 will be an amazing year for Lebanon provided that stability continues.

Beirut hotels bounce back in 2008
Lebanon: Wednesday, March 11 - 2009 at 16:38

Beirut hotels achieve the fastest revPAR growth in the world last year - up 102.2% to $95, according to a new report by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. The city saw strong growth over the past year as it recovered from security clashes of 2006 and 2007, the report said.

^^Excellent news...

If the country remains stable, confidence will return in the hotel sector and I'm sure we'll see a boom in hotel construction.

Lebanon Hopes to Woo 2 Million Tourists in 2009

Lebanon hopes to have wooed two million tourists by the end of 2009 after record arrivals in February, the director general of the tourism ministry told Agence France Presse (AFP) on Monday.

Ministry figures show that 96,902 foreigners visited Lebanon in February.

"It is a record compared to the past six years," when less than 70,000 visitors came in February -- considered a low season for tourists, said Nada Sardouk.

"At this pace we will be able to reach two million visitors by the end of the year," she added.

Sardouk linked the increase in arrivals "to the calm that has prevailed since the election of President Michel Suleiman" in May 2008, after deadly street battles between rival factions pushed Lebanon close to civil war.

Tourism in Lebanon -- a major tourist destination for Arab visitors from the oil-rich Gulf monarchies -- had taken a beating in recent years after a string of political assassinations following the Beirut bomb blast, which killed ex-premier Rafik Hariri in February 2005.

In 2006, Israel and Lebanon's Shiite Hizbullah fought a devastating summer war, while the following year the army battled with Al-Qaida inspired Islamists in a Palestinian refugee camp.

But tourism made a dramatic recovery in 2008 with the arrival of 1.3 million visitors in the Mediterranean country, often called the 'Switzerland of the Middle East'.(AFP)


Beirut, 16 Mar 09, 14:18

Lebanon Hopes to Woo 2 Million Tourists in 2009


Ministry figures show that 96,902 foreigners visited Lebanon in February.

Beirut, 16 Mar 09, 14:18

Does anyone knows if this number includes "real" foreigners and Lebanese with dual citizenship or is just true foreigners?

^^It should MOSTLY be just true foreigners because dual citizens are supposed to come in with their Lebanese passport.

I'm a citizen of Lebanon and the United States and always enter and leave Lebanon with my Lebanese passport.

I use my Australian Passport but I show my Lebanese ID thing.

^^That works as well. An Ikhraj Kaid should work as well too.

What ever the computation if all things constant the rate of growth is noticed...Do you guys feel a growth of 50% is even possible? I would think 1.6 or 1.7. That sounds very optimistic. Inshallah

Does anyone knows if this number includes "real" foreigners and Lebanese with dual citizenship or is just true foreigners?

The article says 2 million visitors. And visitors can be foreign tourists or Lebanese residing abroad..

I will be going to Lebanon at the end of May and coming back at the end of June and I will take LOADS of pictures for SSC Lebanon Thread!!

Book your Tickets Now!!!! There will be no seats left GUARENTEED!!! The lady at the ticket place said there are so many people calling and not that maNy seats left!!

Actually, I am having a really difficult time finding some ticket for this summer already!! Usually it goes for around 1200$ from Montreal. The cheapest I found for July is 1800$!!!

^^Thats still cheap compared to what we have to pay with Emirates they charge heaps for Lebanon in High season its just over 3000 AUD I paid 2200 AUD to go in late November.

Lebanon will be so awesome in the summer ! Its a good thing Etihad is now flying from Melbourne now there is three airlines with connections to Lebanon makes it better I guess.

Actually, I am having a really difficult time finding some ticket for this summer already!! Usually it goes for around 1200$ from Montreal. The cheapest I found for July is 1800$!!!

I got mine super cheap, Air Canada had a promotion going on in May, I got mine for 950 CAD

^^Is Air Canada flying to Beirut now?

^^No, there are no flights from North America to Lebanon.

what about Malaysian Air Jayme? it's cheaper than Emirates & Etihad and it lands in Beirut

^^No, there are no flights from North America to Lebanon.

And I guess from the entire continent for that matter, it's strange given the number of Lebanese on the American continent from north to south!

And I guess from the entire continent for that matter, it's strange given the number of Lebanese on the American continent from north to south!

Yes it is definitely a ridiculous policy. The reason is mainly due to the fact that the U.S. cannot "guarantee the security" of flights going to and coming from Lebanon. I find this hilarious as flights are allowed to go to places like Pakistan, which is obviously due to the "special relationship" the U.S. has with them.
Also, I believe Canada was about to remove their restriction a few years ago but reverted due to some last minute lobbying by the U.S. (I am guessing this was done by a particular religious group...)

Anyway I work in Europe now so it doesnt bother me as much, but wouldnt it be a great site to see MEA land in New York?! Ahh we can only dream.

what about Malaysian Air Jayme? it's cheaper than Emirates & Etihad and it lands in Beirut

I know about them, I was going to fly with them to Lebanon... I just perfer Emirates really, plus Emirates had a promotion to Lebanon so from 2700 AUD I got it for 2200 AUD. Malaysian was 2600 AUD.

Etihad is cheaper then Emirates, My dad will be flying with them to Lebanon.

^^Is Air Canada flying to Beirut now?

Of course not, stopping through London but there was a promotion between the Ottawa and London flight

^^ would you change to Middle East Airlines at London ?

i got my ticket for about $1400 ( and i am leaving on the last day of the low season) ...i am leaving from New York to London to Beirut lol

what is the last day of the low season?

^^ would you change to Middle East Airlines at London ?

yes of course! on my way back I will be in the new livery the agency told me :D

Actually, I am having a really difficult time finding some ticket for this summer already!! Usually it goes for around 1200$ from Montreal. The cheapest I found for July is 1800$!!!

i got mine for $2000 since i didn t want to fly with royal air maroc :lol:, u ll not find less than $1800 if u re traveling anytime in july or august.

I've always used MEA...and @Nadini: all the MEAs that come to Riyad have the new livery :D

i think that last day of the "low season" is at the end of may ...thats when im leaving because its cheaper

yes of course! on my way back I will be in the new livery the agency told me :D

And you will experiance the new cabins MEA has to offerr !

Movenpick plans 19 new MidEast hotels

Lebanon leads region
Among the countries where Movenpick operates in the region, the one in which its hotels are performing best is Lebanon.

In the first two months of this year - which is the country's low season - occupancy in the chain's hotel in Beirut climbed to 60%, compared to 45% in the same period last year, while average room rates jumped to $206 compared to $139 in the same time frame last year, Tamim said.

One reason for Lebanon's upsurge is its newfound political stability, but another factor is that GCC travellers are choosing to visit destinations within the region to limit their travel budgets during the downturn. 'Lebanon, Jordan and Cairo all are benefiting from this trend,' Tamim said. 'We expect this summer to be a boom summer for Lebanon, the best it has ever seen.'

http://www.ameinfo.com/189820.html

'Opportunity for growth' in Lebanon hotel industry
By Karah Byrns
Special to The Daily Star
Thursday, March 26, 2009

BEIRUT: Haitham Mattar has a confident stride when he walks into the room, and with good reason. As the new commercial director and Near East and Area general manager for InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), Mattar brings with him a line of extensive experience in industry best practices, earned in the US and the United Arab Emirates. Passionately prepared to apply his knowledge and enthusiasm to achieving the objectives of his new role, Mattar believes the hotel industry in Lebanon, the country where he will be based, has a reasonably bright future relative to the region.

IHG, most often recognized in Lebanon for their famous Phoenicia Hotel in Beirut, manages a total of five hotels in Lebanon and 83 in the region. Although the crisis has brought shortfalls in Dubai and Red Sea resorts in Egypt, the revenue-per-available-room has shown 1-percent growth across the region, and the group has been holding its ground surprisingly well in Lebanon. The five IHG hotels posted average occupancy rates of 85 percent in March, following a February rate of 90 percent, in comparison with an industry average in Beirut of 75 percent. Those occupancy rates are not expected to drop either, a trend which has sparked increased interest in investing in the industry.

Rejecting the popular belief that economic crises have the least effect on the well-off, Mattar pointed out: "There is an opportunity for growth on the mid-scale market and value-for-money hotels, like the Holiday Inn brand family. No one is immune to the crisis, everyone is being more frugal. The guy who used to book the presidential suite will now book the executive suite."

The strength of the banking industry and opportunities to buy and build on land for use in what Mattar calls "a very profitable industry" offer increased incentives for investment, supported by forecasts projecting "tremendous growth in tourism" that will likely be bolstered by initiatives to increase demand by promoting Lebanon as a year-round, rather than seasonal destination. Two million tourists are expected this summer alone, as long as the climate of overall political stability and security continues.

Despite his positive outlook, Mattar still holds to his adage that "no one is immune."


To offset any impacts of the financial crisis, he will "focus on investing in human capital and driving revenues rather than cutting costs."

To invest in human capital, Mattar already launched a succession plan to strengthen and develop talent from within, believing that offering employees education, training, and career evolution opportunities will increase confidence and motivation in a way that will rub off on the quality of their work.

"I want to leverage the strengths within our people to improve the guest experience," he stated.

To drive revenues, Mattar will focus on "opening to potential niche markets with outbound travel to other parts of the world." Instead of exclusively promoting IHG hotels, his strategy will lean on promoting Lebanon as a destination for business and leisure travel, capitalizing on Lebanon's proximity to other Arab countries and Europe.

"France and Germany have not been as negatively impacted by the crisis as other countries, and the United Kingdom still has a significant percentage of outbound travel, although a significant portion is transported with low-cost carriers," Mattar said. "Lebanon is a country rich in cultural history and nature and we need to promote that, especially to counteract a negative image that has been perpetuated by the news," he added. IHG will host more "familiarization trips" targeting travel agencies and tour operators in line with this objective, with a trip for French and German operators being hosted at the end of this week.

"I am cautiously optimistic about the future," Mattar stated, upholding the assertion that investment in the industry now is a wise move. "There has been a revival of confidence in investing due to the relative stability in Lebanon and a good performance record over the last year. This is the first time we have had 12 straight months of continuous, healthy operations since 2004."

Investment in the industry is also a move that will generate an important economic benefit not only for investors, but for the country, an opportunity highlighted by the shortage of rooms that even a large group like IHG is experiencing.

Cool article, see link for pics of the hotel with the worlds biggest suite!

http://travel.latimes.com/articles/la-trw-foreign29-2009mar29


Lebanon tourism rallies
From The Los Angeles Times
04:59 PM PDT, March 25, 2009


Lebanon's Bekaa Valley wine country
More Photos »

Offbeat Traveler: Lebanon boasts the world's largest hotel suite
More Photos »

1 Lebanon

After years of instability, Lebanon is getting its groove back.

Although the U.S. State Department maintains a travel warning, which advises Americans to avoid Lebanon because of safety and security concerns, a political agreement last year has restored calm.

Foreign tourists have been flocking back to the Mideast country's pine-covered mountains, fancy Mediterranean beach clubs and buzzing night life. About 1.3 million visited last year, up 30% from 2007, government officials said.

Damage from the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas has been largely repaired, and in any case was concentrated in south Beirut and southern Lebanon, areas that most foreign tourists avoid. Tensions among Lebanon's mix of Shiites, Sunnis, Christians and Druze have cooled considerably.

Beirut's restored downtown, an apocalyptic minefield during the country's long civil war, has been turned into a gleaming shopping district, with Four Seasons and Hilton hotels expected to open soon. The city center's heart remains an ancient Roman bathhouse and St. George's Greek Orthodox Church.

Restaurants and outdoor cafes abound. At night, visitors mingle with perfumed and buffed-up young men and women partying until the wee hours in the bars and nightclubs of the trendy Gemmayze district.

Two hours' drive from Beirut are magnificent Roman ruins at the ancient temple complex in Baalbek, in the Bekaa Valley. The well-preserved monuments are minutes away from the nation's wine country, including the natural underground caves at Chateau Ksara, open daily.

The Crusader fortress in the seaport of Byblos offers a look at Lebanon's ancient history and a chance to dine at the legendary waterfront Pepe Abed fish restaurant.

For tourist information, visit www.destinationlebanon.gov.lb.

Lebanon reclaiming its reputation as must-go tourist spot
American newspapers say country is 'getting its groove back'
By Nicholas Kimbrell
Daily Star staff
Friday, March 27, 2009

BEIRUT: Stories of Lebanon's political discord and confessional tensions regularly appear in the foreign press, but on the travel pages of major US newspapers the Mediterranean country has reclaimed its place of prestige as a must-go tourist spot. "After years of instability, Lebanon is getting its groove back," the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday. "Foreign tourists have been flocking back to the Mideast country's pine-covered mountains, fancy Mediterranean beach clubs and buzzing night life."

For decades, just saying the word Beirut was to conjure images of violence and brutality. The city, in the popular American imagination, was a panorama of kidnappings, bombings, and street fights.

During and after Lebanon's disastrous 1975-1990 Civil War, Hollywood stars like Brad Pitt, Eric Banna and Chuck Norris fought their way through keffiyeh-clad "terrorists" and Beirut's blood-stained streets on the silver screen.

But Lebanon's new press in the West may help be helping to rehabilitate the country's image as a war-ravaged destination reserved for arms dealers and adrenaline junkies.

In January, the New York Times listed Beirut as the first of "the 44 places to go in 2009," beating other top competitors: Washington D.C., Galapagos (on Darwin's 200th anniversary), Berlin and Las Vegas.

"With a recent (though perhaps tenuous) detente keeping the violence in check, the capital of Lebanon is poised to reclaim its title as the Paris of the Middle East," the Times said. Almost ignoring the 43 other destinations, hundreds of readers from the Middle East, Europe and the US posted comments on the daily's Web site applauding the choice.

Most of the comment posters wrote about Lebanon's fabled beach and night life, two features which fuelled Beirut's popularity in the 1960s and early 70s - a time when jet setters and film stars flocked to the country's coast before Cannes and which some taxi-drivers still refer to as the "golden years."

Like in the sixties, a period when political and social angst simmered under the surface, Lebanon in 2009 is by no means politically stable. Years of Syrian domination and Israeli occupation, the wounds of the 2006 summer war with Israel and anger over deadly street clashes last May still play active roles in the Lebanese psyche.

Fears of renewed violence are also justified ahead of hotly-contested parliamentary elections this June and a three-year old campaign of assassinations that continued Monday with the murder of a high-ranking Palestinian official in the Mieh Mieh refugee camp.

Beirut is nevertheless emerging as popular spot for foreign tourists. An estimated 1.3 million people visited the country in 2008, according to government figures, a 30 percent increase from 2007.

In addition, the World Travel and Trade Council has estimated that Lebanon's travel and trade industry will contribute more than $2.5 billion to the country's economy in 2009, equal to about 10 percent of its GDP.

Interestingly, the New York Times and the LA Times chose to highlight different reasons for Lebanon's growing foreign popularity. The New York Times piece emphasized the coming arrival of new high-end hotels, cozy restaurants and an organic farmers' cooperative that has contributed to Beirut's "gastro-political awakening."

The LA Times, while alluding to several new hotel projects, focused on Beirut's nightlife and Lebanon's historic sites. "Restaurants and outdoor cafes abound. At night, visitors mingle with perfumed and buffed-up young men and women partying until the wee hours in the bars and nightclubs of the trendy Gemmayzeh district," it said.

"Two hours' drive from Beirut are magnificent Roman ruins at the ancient temple complex in Baalbek, in the Bekaa Valley," it added, before mentioning a couple of Lebanon's world class vineyards and the seaside ruins in Byblos.

Lebanon's Tourism Minister Elie Marouni considers the praise to be well-deserved.

"Lebanon has come full circle," he wrote on his ministry's Web site. "As I settle into my new position, one thing is for certain, the country ... has once again rejoined the elite list of most popular tourist destinations in the Middle East."

indeed nice

A top ski trip in Lebanon (really!)
By Kelly Crane, Staff Reporter
Published: March 27, 2009, 23:11


When a friend suggested a weekend on snow-capped slopes in Lebanon, I gave a look of confusion that I haven’t been able to live down since.

Just three hours from the searing temperatures of the desert we live in and not exactly internationally renowned among the ski and board troops who hit the likes of Val d’Sere and Chamonix each year, Lebanon hardly springs to mind when someone mentions après ski and snowmobiles.

But I couldn’t have been more wrong — as was emphasised when a giant snow plough was whistled over to personally escort me to my hotel.

Out and about

The Tourisme et Sports d’Hiver Mzaar, Kfardebiane, Mount Lebanon, or Mzaar ski resort for the linguistically challenged, is an 8,000-square-metre snow-lover’s paradise.

And although it may not be as extensive as other more famous resorts around the world, the compact size brings many advantages, the main one being easy access.

Less than an hour’s drive from the Lebanese capital, Beirut, the main resort Faraya houses the usual après ski eateries.

Just 7.5km of spectacular views later, you reach Mzaar, a modern resort with all the charm of an old Alpine village.

And it was here I rushed into the reception of one of the region’s most beautiful hotels — the Intercontinental Mzaar — hardly taking in the decor, quaint restaurants and stylish yet traditional loft room, grabbed my gloves and hat and strapped my board to my boots before I had even made it out of the lift.

Right choice

Luckily, I picked the right hotel as being able to have your goggles on and board at the ready as you leave your hotel is only possible from this establishment in the region as it has its own private ski lift for guests only.

So the Intercontinental’s private lift and slope, Refuge, was first up for a practice run after picking up a half-day lift pass for just 26,000 Lebanese pounds (Dh64), about a third of the price of many European resorts.

With 80km of skiing trails, it is the largest ski domain in the Middle East, offering the latest equipment and facilities at extremely affordable prices.

It was snow like I had never seen before with kilometres of rolling mountains and, unusually, a distinct lack of trees.

The terrain is perfect for first-time off-piste adventurers and a basic piste map also makes this an option for new skiers, as there is little chance of not eventually rejoining a red or blue run back down to the lift base at Junction — the most popular starting point.

Managing director of the Mzaar ski resort, Christian Rizk, said Lebanon was now the place to come for skiing.

“Some ski resorts may have hotels with direct access to the slopes, breathtaking views, world-class spa facilities or lots of dining options. Others may provide outdoor activities, special children areas, an in-house shopping arcade and business facilities. But very few offer them all. We do.”

Go mobile

A quick trip from the hotel took me to Said Khalil and his snowmobiles at Snow Extreme. I may be happy to hurl myself from the top of a snowy mountain, strapped to a glorified tray — but I’ve never been one for anything with a motor.

The sun started to set as we made our way to La Cabine — the only snow stop (mountain restaurant) which can be reached either on a mobile, ski or snowboard. Khalil explained why snowmobiles were so popular in Mzaar.

“The Cedar tree is symbolic, as it’s on Lebanon’s flag and the snowmobile is the easiest way to The Cedars — a breathtaking spot overlooking a forest. By car, it takes more than two hours but on a mobile, it takes just one. It’s the way to get there if you want to see the area as nature intended.”

Saved by the spa

Tired, impressed, sunburnt (goggle marks look great), it was back to the hotel for a much-needed rejuvenation at the Les Thermes du Mzaar — a spa in the heart of the snow.

Too much snow can bring difficulty for beginners on the slopes, so a few days of total white were saved by the spa facilities and an indoor swimming pool, complete with steam room and sauna.

I’m no expert when it comes to ski resorts, but what I can tell you as a snowboarder is that Lebanon should be experienced.

Go there . . . Mount Lebanon . . . From the UAE

From Dubai

Emirates and Middle East Airlines both fly daily to Beirut.
Fare from Dh1,810

— Information courtesy: The Holiday Lounge by Dnata.
Ph: 04 4380454

Information

Meals and refreshments are very reasonably priced and a typical meal is listed below in Lebanese pounds.

Starter: 10,000 (Dh25)

Main course: 35,000 (Dh86)

Dessert: 12,000 (Dh29)

Top tips

Although the drive from the airport to Mzaar is a pleasant one, your trip will be greatly improved by spending your last night (or few nights) in Beirut to be closer to the airport.

Just an eight minute transfer from the city centre, I chose to stay in the capital’s beautiful Intercontinental Phoenicia, which was perfectly located for a good afternoon and evening in Beirut’s popular Down Town area, just a short walk away.

Trying desperately to ignore the many armed military personnel lining the streets, the walk along the sea front was a pleasant one, with new towers popping up all over the place, boasting offices, shops and restaurants.

Overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, with its majesty and grandeur, InterContinental Phoenicia Beirut stands proudly at the heart of Beirut and comprises two towers and one residential building. It is extremely popular, so you need to book early.

BEIRUT: The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) estimated that the travel and tourism industry would contribute directly $2.59 billion to the Lebanese economy in 2009, equivalent to 9.3 percent of GDP, and direct industry employment will reach 149,800, representing 9.6 percent of total employment in Lebanon this year, as reported by Lebanon This Week, the economic publication of the Byblos Bank Group.

It added that since the travel and tourism industry touches all sectors of the economy, its real direct and indirect impact is even greater, and forecast it will generate $7.78 billion, or 28.1 percent, of overall economic activity in Lebanon in 2009, including 439,600 jobs, or one in every 3.6 jobs, representing 28.1 percent of total employment in 2009.

It added that the industry's direct contribution to Lebanon's economic activity will rise to $4.8 billion, or 8.6 percent of GDP in 2019, while the broader travel and tourism economy will contribute $14.2 billion, or 25.7 percent of GDP by 2019.

The WTTC projected the travel and tourism economy in Lebanon would grow by 3 percent per year in real terms between 2010 and 2019 compared to 4.3 percent in the Middle East and 4 percent globally over the same period of time, while the travel and tourism direct industry will grow by 3.1 percent per year in real terms during the 2010-19 period compared to 4.7 percent growth for the Middle East and 3.6 percent globally. Lebanon's travel and tourism economy ranked 19th among 181 countries in terms of its contribution to GDP in 2009, while it ranked in 149th place worldwide in terms of its annualized growth rate over the 2010-19 period.


Further, travel and tourism direct industry jobs are forecast to reach 160,900 or 8.9 percent of total jobs in Lebanon by 2019, while employment in Lebanon's travel and tourism economy should total 468,300 jobs overall, or one in every 3.9 jobs, equivalent to 25.8 percent of total employment by 2019. In comparison, the WTTC forecast direct industry employment in the region to grow by 3.4 percent over the 2010-19 period and to account for 3 percent of total employment. - The Daily Star

Aridi, Baroud and Marouni visit airport to follow up on preparations
April 1, 2009

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Public Works and Transport Minister Ghazi al-Aridi, Interior Minister Ziad Baroud and Tourism Minister Elie Marouni visited Beirut International Airport Tuesday to follow up on preparations made there to facilitate receiving the biggest possible number of tourists and Lebanese expatriates.

The three ministers held a meeting at the airport in the Lebanese Civil Aviation Authority office and discussed for one hour the possible measures that could be taken to facilitate the check out process for arrivers at the security levels of the Middle East Airlines, as well as other airlines.

Aridi said he hoped Lebanon would witness heavy touristic flow as a result of the preparations, adding that he hoped for a “promising” summer season and that the upcoming parliamentary elections would pass amid a calm atmosphere, security and stability. “The security situation at the airport is stable and good, and we hope it is strengthened by everybody’s cooperation to make [the necessary] preparations,” he said.

Aridi noted that Middle East Airlines had plans to expand their projects as were other companies who were coming to Lebanon, including their relations with the Lebanese Civil Aviation Authority.

Baroud said that cooperation was the meeting’s main goal, adding that “it is crucial and without it there would be no success.” He said “heavy activity at the airport is a healthy sign, but it seizes to be so, when arrivers are not properly welcomed or when their departure is not facilitated.”

Baroud also said that the airport’s security apparatus and the Internal Security Forces suffered from a major problem, which was the lack of members, noting that at least 60 more members were still needed to better serve the people. Baroud stressed the need for cooperation among all those concerned and said the cabinet had a role on all levels rather than through one ministry only.

Marouni reiterated that Lebanon was primarily a touristic country, and “the more efforts are made, the more its touristic role will be enhanced.” He stressed the need for freely and safely arriving in Lebanon, whether for expatriates or tourists.

Marouni said there could be no tourism without communication among the ministries. He also announced that two new agreements would be signed with Poland and Venezuela to bring about more tourists and expatriates, “ so that Lebanon could be once more the pioneer in the Middle East.”

-NOW Staff

Tourism activity in Lebanon up by 51% in the first two months of 2009

Figures released by the Ministry of Tourism indicate that the sector began the year with a solid performance when compared to the same months a year ago.

Indeed, the number of tourists visiting Lebanon saw an increase of 51.0% in the first two months of 2009 relative to the same month of 2008 to reach 174,210 as compared to 115,400 in the same period of 2008. This year-on-year amelioration continues the buoyant performance of the sector witnessed in the second half of 2008, and resulting from the political resolution, which stabilized security and economic conditions in the country.

In fact, this increase is considered especially significant as it comes at a time when the whole globe and the Arab world in particular, is under the impact of tight economic conditions. The yearly increase in the first two months of this year can be attributed to a certain extent to a low base in the first two months of 2008, as back then political conditions weren’t as stable as they are now. However, the fact that the number of tourists visiting Lebanon in the first two months of 2009 is higher than the number of incoming tourists in the first two months of any of the previous years, does signify an exceptional touristic performance at the beginning of 2009.

On a monthly basis in 2009, both January and February saw an upbeat tourism activity. However, this activity skyrocketed in the second month of this year. The year-on-year increase in tourism activity during the first month of the year was at 22.7%. However, in February, incoming tourists into Lebanon totaled 96,902 visitors, up by a noteworthy
84.9% year-on-year. This can be attributed to a large extent to the shopping festival that was re-launched in February of this year after it was halted for four years due to uncertain economic conditions, not to mention the fact that several conferences, mainly economic conferences, took place in Lebanon in the second month of the year. One should note that the number of incoming Arab tourists into Lebanon rose by an important 162% year-on-year in February 2009 and by 90.5% in the first two months of the year.

The distribution of tourists by origin in the first two months of 2009 shows that the greater part of visitors were from the Arab countries with 45.8% of aggregate visitors, followed by visitors from Europe with 24.5%, visitors from Asia, with 15.7%, visitors from the Americas with 9.8%, visitors from Oceania with 2.3%, and visitors from Africa with 2.2%. In terms of individual countries, the greater part of visitors was from Jordan with 21,448 visitors, or 12.3% of the total, followed by Saudi Arabia with 16,317 (9.4%), Iran with 13,023 visitors (7.5%), France with 12,495 (7.2%), Kuwait with 10,793 (6.2), Iraq with 9,780 (5.6%) the United States with 7,969 (4.6%), and Egypt with 7,467 (4.3%).

I am seeing quite a bit of tourists in Lebanon right now, I'm surprised.

InterContinental Mzaar gears up for refurbishments

Less than an hour drive from Beirut, InterContinental Mzaar Lebanon Mountain Resort and Spa is known for its outstanding effort to satisfy its clientele, and thus will undergo exceptional achievements aiming to further its success.

Lebanon: Wednesday, April 22 - 2009 at 10:14 PRESS RELEASE


The resort's optimistic vision for 2009 aiming to exceed guests' expectations has motivated the initiation of InterContinental Mzaar refurbishment starting May 1st throughout June 15th; a period during which the hotel will be closed to public.

Mainly, the hotel remodeling will include a partial renovation of the lobby with new couches and furniture, a complete overhaul of the main building Level 3, 4 and 5 with guest rooms' refurbishment and replacement of sound proof carpet flooring, walls & ceilings; the development & update of the Fire Life Safety (FLS) measures and the addition of an upscale indoor ballroom accommodating up to 350 persons and five adjacent meeting rooms on level -1.

Driving through 2009 with innovation and professionalism, InterContinental Mzaar is very proud to stay up-to-date, hence meet with our world's unending evolution by offering to its clientele the utmost in heritage & comfort through the latest expertise.

'We promise to bring the InterContinental Mzaar experience to life!'

From the Ministry of Tourism of Lebanon

Numerical Statistics on the month of March 2009

Number of visitors in March 2009 = 123,469 Tourists

Increase of 57,53% in comparison with March last year 2008 where the total number of visitors reached 78,378 visitors.

Also an increase of 101.62% in the number of visitors from Arab countries that reached 43,052 visitors during the month of March 2009, compared with 21,353 visitors for the same month of last year 2008.
Taking into consideration that the number of Iranian visitors reached 24,693 (Persian New Year's Day)

March 2009 in detail:

Arab visitors ranked first with 43,052 visitors , as follows:

First : Jordanian / 13,631 visitors that is 32% of the total Arab Visitors.
Second : Saudis / 6,398 visitors, that is 15% of the total Arab visitors.
Third : Iraqis / 6,392 visitors, that is 15% of the total Arab visitors.

As for visitors from Asian countries , they ranked second with 32,335 visitors, mostly Iranians whose number reached 24,693 visitors (Persian New Year's Day).

Visitors from the Continent of Europe ranked third with 24,054 visitors.

Visitors from the Continent of America ranked fourth with 10,849 visitors.


Total number for the first quarter of years :2007- 2008-2009:

Number of visitors for the first quarter of year 2009: 297,679 visitors.

An increase of 64,89% compared with the same period of year 2007 that registered 180,523 visitors.

An increase of 53,61% compared with the same period of year 2008 that registered 193,778 visitors.

A sleeping giant tries to stir

by Laura Warne Apr 14, 2009


Lebanon is struggling to emerge from years of political turmoil. Ongoing instability continues to beleaguer hoteliers and suppliers alike, but there is now hope on the horizon, says Laura Warne.

With its rich history, vibrant night life, beautiful scenery and quality hotels, Lebanon has the makings of the perfect tourist destination.

However, the country, including its capital Beirut — the ‘Paris of the Middle East’ — has been crippled by civil war and political instability.

Although the Lebanese Civil War ended in 1990, clashes in 2006 and 2007 sent the country back to square one. The lack of a solid government has since put development plans on hold for many hoteliers. The news is not all bad, however. Lebanon is one of the few countries in the world that has not been severely affected by the global credit crunch.

In 2008, Beirut achieved the fastest revPAR growth in the world — up 102.2% to US $95, according to a report by Deloitte. It presents the city as an “illustration of how tourism is damaged by political conflicts”. However, the report acknowledges that Beirut saw “strong growth over the past year as it recovered from security clashes of 2006 and 2007”.

While the majority of world markets are slowing and unable to escape the pressure of the financial downturn, Lebanon has been largely untouched by global economic issues. Business tourism in particular has remained strong, especially when compared to other destinations.

For hoteliers, there is a chance to capitalise on this strong inbound business tourism market. After all, Monroe Hotel Beirut general manager Ghassan Naaman says that business travellers dominate the Lebanese market for 10 months of the year.

Fast Forward
As Mövenpick Hotel and Resort Beirut general manager Alain Chatel puts it, “the Lebanese market has been sleeping for the last three years and is now waking up very quickly”.

However, he explains that the country is still in a state of uncertainty and is subject to many internal challenges that affect hoteliers.

“Parliamentary elections are scheduled for June 2009; the outcome remains ambiguous and the political stability pre-, during- and post-elections remains unclear,” says Chatel.

“This makes it very difficult to predict business flow and to plan investment in the second quarter of 2009.”
Naaman agrees that developing a thorough business or marketing plan is “impossible” in the current climate. He adds that competition and a lack of infrastructure also hinder growth.

“The roads are overloaded with cars and traffic problems that prevent the sales team from delivering 100% productivity,” says Naaman.

“The market is strong and growing. Nevertheless, competition between hotels is unethical as they are fighting amongst each other to get business by cutting rates to unacceptable levels.”

Naaman says new properties such as the Hilton, Four Seasons and Hyatt Regency are being developed at a slow pace, with owners waiting for a more stable time to launch.

Staffing Woes
The country’s instability has taken its toll on the hotel industry, with staffing one of the hardest-hit facets of business.

“We have to replace the workforce that left Lebanon during the last three years of political crisis and retrain the entire team to match up to the standards expected from a five-star hotel,” says Chatel.

Naaman agrees: “The most important factor that hinders development is manpower,” he says.

“It is very difficult to find professionals at this time; during the past few years, most have been expatriates from other countries.”

Expatriates and locals alike left Lebanon in droves between 2006 and 2007 and the industry is now struggling to build itself up with only a skeleton staff.

“The comeback of Lebanon has been so quick, that we are trying to keep up with the pace of this growth with our workforce,” says Chatel.

“We expect to continue this growth, pending the outcome of the parliamentary elections.” Chatel says there are also some concerns that the global economic downturn may eventually impact the market, which has been relatively unscathed until now.

Market Trends
Mövenpick has always catered to a combination of business and leisure travellers, with the Middle East and GCC markets dominating bookings, says Chatel. However, compared to other Beirut hotels, Mövenpick also welcomes a large number of European business visitors, he says.

“Being the only city centre hotel with resort facilities, our guests can combine both business and leisure during their trip to Beirut. The hotel comprises all the requirements of a business traveller.

“As for our resort facilities, our guests can enjoy the most magnificent view in Beirut, directly overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.”

Naaman says the Monroe Hotel is also favoured by European travellers and even neighbouring countries such as Jordan, Syria and Iraq are out-booking the Gulf states.

Uncertain Future
Major developments may have been put on hold in Lebanon, but Chatel is using the current period of uncertainty to pursue a soft refurbishment of all rooms and suites at the Mövenpick. He has also flagged an upgrade for the hotel’s popular outlet, Hemingway’s Bar and Cigar Lounge and Terrace.

Chatel says co-operation between the industry and the government will help improve the market. “The Lebanese Ministry of Tourism is highly supportive of hotels, especially during exhibitions and trade shows,” he says. “We need to work together to aggressively market Lebanon as the number one tourist destination.” Naaman sings a different tune, however: “There are absolutely no government initiatives to help hoteliers,” he says.

“In the worst times of the country they never helped in any way and apparently have no plans to do so. Hotel owners should count on themselves,” warns Naaman.

Bouncing back Emirates Holidays VP commercial operations Dina Al Herais says Lebanon is “one of the most resilient destinations” in the world.

“What we are seeing is that in the past six months the booking numbers to Lebanon have doubled, compared to the same time the year before.

“The minute it cools down [politically], the traffic just starts going back immediately,” says Al Herais. She says hotel rates dropped significantly over the past year to around US $150 per night, but are now back at healthy levels as hotels witness an upturn in consumer demand.

The country is a perennial favourite with the Arab market, despite its troubles, adds Al Herais. “Tourists from the GCC love the destination and know all about it; they will tell you which hotel they want to stay in, which streets they want to be close to, which restaurants they want to eat in and all the sights they want to see,” she says.

“We are also seeing a healthy number of requests from ex-pats for winter skiing holidays. “Emirates flies twice daily to Beirut and we are seeing a generally healthy comeback in the number of people on those flights.”

Al Herais says the country’s unstable political situation is the only thing holding Lebanon back — she explains that all the other elements are in place to make it an ideal tourist destination.

For this reason, she says that even if the June elections “slow things down a bit”, Lebanon is still strong enough to pick itself up again.

In addition, the liberalisation of the skies in Lebanon can only help the country’s travel, tourism and trade, according to International Air Transport Association (IATA) regional vice president MENA Dr Majdi Sabri

“Open sky policies are already delivering economic benefits in Lebanon, Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE,” he says.
So while there is some debate on the factors hindering the development of Lebanon’s hotel industry to-date, with the level of government support brought into question, those in the know seem convinced of a bright future. The research from Deloitte is testament to this trend.

Hoteliers need to be aware of the issues, such as the strength of business tourism, and ensure they make the most of every opportunity.

BEIRUT: "You cannot be a wine-maker without passion," says Edde Winery proprietor Neila al-Bitar. "You cannot be tepid. It just doesn't work. When making wine, you are dealing with emotions." The passion of Bitar for the fruit of the vine is evident at her vineyard, located in the village of Edde, 7km above the seaside town of Batroun - not to be confused with the Edde in the region of Byblos.

Spread over 13.5 hectares between Edde, Jrane and Kfifane, Bitar's 68,000 vines are interwoven in May with a stunning array of wildflowers. Bitar uses only the fruit of her own plants to produce the Edde Winery's "Coteaux de Botrys" label, increasingly unusual in the wine-making business. "It's my land, my grapes, my winery. How many Lebanese wine-makers can say that?" asks Bitar.

Although many of the famous vineyards are located in the Bekaa, there is a significant wine-making presence in the North. As well as the Coteaux de Botrys label, there is Chateau Sanctus, Aurora, Batroun Mountain and Adyas, a collective wine-making enterprise comprising a number of Maronite monastries

"When people think of wine in Lebanon, they think of the Bekaa," says Bitar. "I decided it was time to let everyone know about us."

Bitar is spearheading a number of initiatives to promote northern Lebanese wines. For the five Sundays of August, Beirut's organic market Souk al-Tayeb will up sticks to Batroun. Bitar has convinced her fellow northern wine-makers to attend the event.

"All five of us will be presenting side-by-side at the old souk of Batroun," says Bitar. "It's very important that we work together on this."

With the aim of establishing a northern wine tour to rival the much-trodden route in the Bekaa Valley, Bitar has been meeting with representatives from the Ministry of Tourism and Byblos festival.

Cyclamen, a division of Lebanese tour operator TLB Destinations and member of CIFA (Centre pour l'Insertion par la Formation et l'Activite), a non-profit organization, organized a trip the winery last Sunday. "We wanted to motivate a new tourism itinery, off the usual Bekaa wine trail," says Sabina Llewllyn-Davies, a project manager for CIFA.

Bitar did not set out to be a wine-maker. After training as an interior designer in Munich, she remained in Germany for 18 years before deciding to return to her native Lebanon.

The Edde Winery was the brainchild of her father, General Joseph Bitar. After a distinguished military career, he retired to his home in the hills above Batroun. The Bitar family had distilled their own arak since arriving in the region in 1760, and in 1992 General Bitar began producing the aniseed beverage commercially. It is still rated among the best in Lebanon by most connoisseurs, including Michael Karam, author of "Wines of Lebanon," the only guide of its kind.

In 1998, General Bitar planted 5,000 vines, the first step toward achieving his lifelong dream of producing his own wine. Shortly afterward, Neila al-Bitar returned to Lebanon and began helping her father with the new enterprise.

The winery produced 1,000 bottles in 2001, 40,000 last year and by 2015 is projected to reach its maximum capacity of 75,000 bottles.

The Edde Winery is unusual in producing exclusively French wines. It boasts seven grape varieties, all of Gallic origin. The majority are red varieties, including Mourvedre and Syrah, but there are also two white grapes: Marsanne and Chardonnay.

"We conducted tests of the soil, the strength of the sea breezes, the quality of the sunlight," says Bitar. "These indicated that we should plant French varieties."

Whereas many of the Bekaa vineyards are 1,000 meters above sea-level, the Edde Winery lies at around 400 meters above sea-level, resulting in a substantially different product.

The French connection extends beyond the vines. Bitar employs the services of a resident French enologist, or wine expert. "We are the only vineyard in Lebanon to practice vendange verte [green harvest]," says Bitar. "While the grapes are still very young, we remove everything above one bottle's worth of harvest. This means the remaining high grapes are of particularly high quality."

Quality is the watchword for Bitar. "We do not aim to be an industry," says Bitar, "we aim to be the jewelers of the wine world. Our wine will be the ruby."

Around three years ago, the Bitars decided to change the name of their label from "Kfifane Village" to "Coteaux de Botrys."

"We wanted something more glamorous, more impressive," explains Neila al-Bitar. "Botrys was the Phoenician, Roman and Greek name for Batroun. It was also the Greek word for grape. Batroun was once a wine-making center. We are bringing wine-making back to the region."

General Bitar passed away in June 2007. His daughter, known in the area as "the general's daughter" suddenly found herself running the vineyard on her own. "We had to begin harvesting ten days after he passed away," she says. "Every day was a lesson. The vineyard was my school."

Since January, Bitar has hosted around five wine-tastings per month. "I like my marketing to be very personal," she says. "I want to tell people about the wine myself. I started with one group and since then we have relied only on word of mouth."

The tastings take place in the intimate, rustic surroundings of the winery, where Bitar's interior design skills are evident in the elegant dŽcor.

"Every tasting is like an impromptu party," she says. "There is music and home-made finger-food."

Throughout the summer she is collaborating with La Ferme St Jaques, a Batroun-based enterprise producing artisan products such as foie gras and cuisse de canard. On the first and last Sundays of the summer months guests will be welcomed for gourmet cuisine and wine.

"The vineyard is a noble inheritance," says Bitar. "I want to continue the work of my father. The only change we will make is to modernize the image."

Can Beirut become the Marbella of the Middle East?
By Regional Press Network (RPN)
Wednesday, May 13, 2009

http://www.dailystar.com.lb//admin/storage/articles/20095122157400.5-Building-Fadi.JPG

BEIRUT: From a distance, one observes the birth of a new skyline - sprouting towers of elegant bricks, mortar and concrete that will house an eclectic range of people who choose to live in Beirut, a city with a raw database of stories with even more plots and twists than the latest Hollywood movie. The flawless finishing of these apartments, kaleidoscope of designs and the stainless kitchens do however also come with a somewhat jaw-dropping price tag for a non-utopian city. Apartments in the tower blocks facing the marina, for example, carry price-tags of $1 million upwards, this being considered a modest figure by the many that have already sold "off-plan."

The political climate of the country is no secret, with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund rating the investment risk of the nation on par with states such as Chad and Sudan. How then does one explain these prices from an investment point of view? Take for instance the prices in towns such as Marbella on the Mediterranean coast of Spain, a naturally luxurious and hedonistic playground of the rich and famous that can potentially be Beirut, once the "Paris of the Middle East." Apartments and villas, in gated compounds boast similar million dollar and above price tags, with a relative saving grace of EU membership and security, a stable and functioning government, absence of political bickering, lower investment risk rating and of course the Spanish siesta. From a stability point of view, comparing Marbella and Beirut can be like comparing chalk and cheese, and yet the latter demonstrates great resilience within the real estate sector.

Analysts could attempt to explain this, citing the strong Lebanese banking sector with its impressive levels of liquidity and the availability of credit, investment from the Middle East region in general, former Lebanese residents re-investing in their motherland and a social transformation of the younger generation irrespective of the political divisions and diversions that frustratingly prevail.

The prices must therefore exist due to supply and demand side factors that have assimilated the "political factor" combined with changing perceptions of the nation to both investors and home buyers. The supply-side factors may be explained two-dimensionally by fact that key locations in the city, such as Hamra, are crowded with developments in a relatively small space; this is compounded with the needs of the local and growing student population at prestigious institutions such as the American University of Beirut delivering medium-term tenants for investors, all scrambling for limited good space locations.

Prices in Marbella however have long reached their peak, and the number of British residents and investors living in this southern gem of Spain is a known fact. In similar fashion, Beirut has lured investors from a variety of locations in the Middle East. The country boasted FDI stocks of $18.3 billion and inflows of $2.7 billion in 2006, this in a year Lebanon went to war with Israel. There is speculation that further investment and prices are yet to come providing the political tensions dilute or at least don't escalate to the previous historical levels; it is a question of risk taking, risk adverse or a laissez-faire attitude to risk in terms of investment, though it has to be noted that both Lebanese economics and politics exist in varying shades of grey.

This summer, the Beirut city center is preparing for the returning of visitors and countless festivities. This ability to return to form and celebrate life is what makes the place. Beirut offers that "something extra" - an intangible and unquantifiable element -that is mainly driven by an unprecedented cosmopolitanism that refuses to exclude anyone or anything, an "x-factor" which other cities in the region lack.

A drive down the city centre would awe the most critical of architects at the restoration of a once destroyed French style quarter. Retail spaces are plenty, with rents in the popular malls ranging from $2000 to $3000 per square meter. One would expect the political factor to suppress prices, yet it appears that some defiance amongst buyers and sellers remains. Given that the political crisis subsides, in terms of real estate at least, the city seems set to become a Marbella of the Middle East.

Priyan P. Khakhar

BEIRUT: "You cannot be a wine-maker without passion," says Edde Winery proprietor Neila al-Bitar. "You cannot be tepid. It just doesn't work. When making wine, you are dealing with emotions." The passion of Bitar for the fruit of the vine is evident at her vineyard, located in the village of Edde, 7km above the seaside town of Batroun - not to be confused with the Edde in the region of Byblos.

Spread over 13.5 hectares between Edde, Jrane and Kfifane, Bitar's 68,000 vines are interwoven in May with a stunning array of wildflowers. Bitar uses only the fruit of her own plants to produce the Edde Winery's "Coteaux de Botrys" label, increasingly unusual in the wine-making business. "It's my land, my grapes, my winery. How many Lebanese wine-makers can say that?" asks Bitar.

Although many of the famous vineyards are located in the Bekaa, there is a significant wine-making presence in the North. As well as the Coteaux de Botrys label, there is Chateau Sanctus, Aurora, Batroun Mountain and Adyas, a collective wine-making enterprise comprising a number of Maronite monastries

"When people think of wine in Lebanon, they think of the Bekaa," says Bitar. "I decided it was time to let everyone know about us."

Bitar is spearheading a number of initiatives to promote northern Lebanese wines. For the five Sundays of August, Beirut's organic market Souk al-Tayeb will up sticks to Batroun. Bitar has convinced her fellow northern wine-makers to attend the event.

"All five of us will be presenting side-by-side at the old souk of Batroun," says Bitar. "It's very important that we work together on this."

With the aim of establishing a northern wine tour to rival the much-trodden route in the Bekaa Valley, Bitar has been meeting with representatives from the Ministry of Tourism and Byblos festival.

Cyclamen, a division of Lebanese tour operator TLB Destinations and member of CIFA (Centre pour l'Insertion par la Formation et l'Activite), a non-profit organization, organized a trip the winery last Sunday. "We wanted to motivate a new tourism itinery, off the usual Bekaa wine trail," says Sabina Llewllyn-Davies, a project manager for CIFA.

Bitar did not set out to be a wine-maker. After training as an interior designer in Munich, she remained in Germany for 18 years before deciding to return to her native Lebanon.

The Edde Winery was the brainchild of her father, General Joseph Bitar. After a distinguished military career, he retired to his home in the hills above Batroun. The Bitar family had distilled their own arak since arriving in the region in 1760, and in 1992 General Bitar began producing the aniseed beverage commercially. It is still rated among the best in Lebanon by most connoisseurs, including Michael Karam, author of "Wines of Lebanon," the only guide of its kind.

In 1998, General Bitar planted 5,000 vines, the first step toward achieving his lifelong dream of producing his own wine. Shortly afterward, Neila al-Bitar returned to Lebanon and began helping her father with the new enterprise.

The winery produced 1,000 bottles in 2001, 40,000 last year and by 2015 is projected to reach its maximum capacity of 75,000 bottles.

The Edde Winery is unusual in producing exclusively French wines. It boasts seven grape varieties, all of Gallic origin. The majority are red varieties, including Mourvedre and Syrah, but there are also two white grapes: Marsanne and Chardonnay.

"We conducted tests of the soil, the strength of the sea breezes, the quality of the sunlight," says Bitar. "These indicated that we should plant French varieties."

Whereas many of the Bekaa vineyards are 1,000 meters above sea-level, the Edde Winery lies at around 400 meters above sea-level, resulting in a substantially different product.

The French connection extends beyond the vines. Bitar employs the services of a resident French enologist, or wine expert. "We are the only vineyard in Lebanon to practice vendange verte [green harvest]," says Bitar. "While the grapes are still very young, we remove everything above one bottle's worth of harvest. This means the remaining high grapes are of particularly high quality."

Quality is the watchword for Bitar. "We do not aim to be an industry," says Bitar, "we aim to be the jewelers of the wine world. Our wine will be the ruby."

Around three years ago, the Bitars decided to change the name of their label from "Kfifane Village" to "Coteaux de Botrys."

"We wanted something more glamorous, more impressive," explains Neila al-Bitar. "Botrys was the Phoenician, Roman and Greek name for Batroun. It was also the Greek word for grape. Batroun was once a wine-making center. We are bringing wine-making back to the region."

General Bitar passed away in June 2007. His daughter, known in the area as "the general's daughter" suddenly found herself running the vineyard on her own. "We had to begin harvesting ten days after he passed away," she says. "Every day was a lesson. The vineyard was my school."

Since January, Bitar has hosted around five wine-tastings per month. "I like my marketing to be very personal," she says. "I want to tell people about the wine myself. I started with one group and since then we have relied only on word of mouth."

The tastings take place in the intimate, rustic surroundings of the winery, where Bitar's interior design skills are evident in the elegant dŽcor.

"Every tasting is like an impromptu party," she says. "There is music and home-made finger-food."

Throughout the summer she is collaborating with La Ferme St Jaques, a Batroun-based enterprise producing artisan products such as foie gras and cuisse de canard. On the first and last Sundays of the summer months guests will be welcomed for gourmet cuisine and wine.

"The vineyard is a noble inheritance," says Bitar. "I want to continue the work of my father. The only change we will make is to modernize the image."

I am dying to try this wine.

:banana: i heard the tourism minister elie marony w few days ago saying that the ministry expects 2 million tourist this season !!!!!!!!!!!!!!:cheers:

this is good cuz its a big jump from the usual rate of tourists that always ranges between 1 to 1.5 million:cheer:

so "shakla wl3ani haydi lsayfiyi" !!!!!!!!!!!
:dance:
(unless hizbola decides to make another war than we will be infront 2 million displaced instead of 2 million tourists)

well for one there are lots of people that are going to lebanon in june just to vote in the elections. Thats another factor.

Most tourists spending in Lebanon originates from Saudi Arabia in first 4 months of 2009
May 16, 2009, 16h33

BEIRUT - Quoting Global Refund, the cash refund operator for international shoppers, Bank Byblos' Lebanon This Week reported that tourists from Saudi Arabia spent the most in Lebanon over the first four months of 2009, equivalent to 19% of total tourist spending, followed by tourists from Kuwait (13%), UAE (13%), Egypt (8%) and Jordan (7%). Beirut attracted 82% of total spending over the covered period, followed by the Metn area with 13% and the Keserwan region with 3%. Fashion & clothing accounted for 67% of total spending, followed by watches with 11%, perfume & cosmetics with 5%, home & garden with 5% and department stores with 4%.

Lebanon may be set to welcome a record number of tourists this summer


BEIRUT: One year after emergence of relative internal calm in May 2008, the longsuffering Lebanese tourism industry could now be at the start of a long and fruitful summer with potential to exceed last year's tourism performance by half, say Lebanese tourism officials and a leading resort operator.

Nada Sardouk, director general at the ministry of tourism, sees the country on course to set a new record for annual visitors. Based on a count of 500,000 visitors by May, "I expect 2 million visitors by end of 2009. It will be a great year," she told RPN on the sidelines of a press event ringing in one of the Lebanon's summer festivals.

The official number for visitor arrivals in the first quarter was just announced as a record 434,418, an increase by 56.79 percent from 277,054 in the same period of 2008.

Two million - Lebanon has never counted that many visitors in a single year, not even in the so-called golden years in the 1960 and early 70s. The country has for a long time looked to boost its tourism status to that of a worry-free center of savoir vivre for which the country was renowned decades ago - before the start of internal warfare in 1975 ruined this reputation.

The arduous climb back toward becoming a veritable niche market capturing regional holidaymakers and some segments of European outbound tourism has been beset by obstacles throughout the 1990s. Some seven summers ago, Lebanon showed signs of a tourism revival but the growth trend was disrupted brutally after 2004 delivered visitor numbers comparable to the 1.5 million held as record since 1975.

Within this labored recovery, tourism forecasts had a history of being rather unreliable in Lebanon and expectations for massive growth in inbound tourism have been hyped repeatedly beyond what proved possible over the years.

Expectations of finally breaking the 2 million mark sometimes looked genuine such as in 2006 when 460,000 visitors were counted in the first five months. Then, however, hopes were smashed through the 2006 summer assault by Israel and in 2007 through conflicts in which the Lebanese army had to spend months battling a militia in Nahr al-Bared Palestinian camp.

In 2008, the first quarter of the year was promising with almost 200,000 visitors but a quarrel for political control pushed the numbers for the first five months below the 342,000 recorded in 2007.

Subsequently, the full-year result of 1.3 million tourists in 2008 was less than hospitality operators had wished for, and rates of 55 percent occupancy is still substantially below the Middle East averages of 69 percent.

New website gives tourists guide to Lebanon's alternative lodging

BEIRUT: "Expensive" is perhaps the most appropriate way to describe Lebanon's tourism sector. The focus here has long been on attracting rich Gulf Arabs who don't bat an eyelid at the prospect of forking out hundreds of dollars for an upscale hotel room in the capital. The concepts of rural tourism, eco-lodges, hostels and other cheaper alternatives have been left to gather dust.

The industry is slowly changing, however. Lebanon's first website listing non-hotel lodging was launched on Thursday in the hope of promoting sustainable and rural tourism. Hostelslebanon.com was unveiled to the public at the Tourism Ministry offices in Beirut's Hamra district. A total of 110 lodges are included on the website, which was devised by travel website hostelsclub.com and Lebanon Roots, a travel agency and tour operator established by the Lebanese Maronite Order that specializes in religious tourism and pilgrimages. "With this network, we suggest a cheaper alternative to the hotel reservation system and offer charming lodgings to help individuals, families and groups discover Lebanon at reasonable prices," says the brochure.

Comprising convents, home-stays, schools, campsites, eco-lodges and other places offering a place to sleep, the website gives visitors the most comprehensive guide to Lebanon's alternative accommodation to date. The user-friendly website provides photos and detailed information about the accommodation, and although bookings can't be made online yet, it's in the works. Once that happens, hostelslebanon.com will likely become the new "travel bible" of those wishing to experience Lebanon's less-traveled tourist routes, and provide some financial relief for travelers counting their pennies

addition to the website, Lebanon Roots has also published a handy brochure listing information about the lodgings. A legend indicating price, room type, environmental setting and other criterion allows visitors to quickly scan through and find their ideal accommodation. Christian pilgrims will be pleased to see a number of convents included on the list. Nature lovers will likewise find an abundance of eco-lodges to stay at.


The project is the fruit of three years of researching alternative lodging, Lebanon Roots Managing Director Nour Haddad told The Daily Star. Many of the lesser-known lodges were discovered through village visits and conversations with locals, she said. "It's more to inform people [about Lebanon's wealth of hotel alternatives] than to provide a service," Haddad said of the website. One of the key goals of the website and brochure project is indeed to help situate these alternative lodgings in the tourism sector and to encourage both Lebanese and foreign tourists to spend money and time in rural communities. The website will be of great help to many of the lodgings who previously relied on word of mouth recommendations to sustain business.

Director General of the Tourism Ministry Nada Sardouk was keen to emphasize the project was not taking aim at Lebanon's more established hotels, but rather providing the finishing touches to an incomplete picture of the country's tourism sector. "This is a way to help Lebanon and to build a more sustainable future," she said. The website will also help prepare the Lebanese tourism market for the day when an ease in regional tensions allows for the country to become a more appealing holiday destination.

While hostelslebanon.com does not charge a fee for listing accommodation, it does maintain a standard for who it advertises. The lodging should not be classified by the Tourism Ministry as a hotel, have less than three beds, and should not cost more than $35 per person per night, including breakfast.

Beirut Reclaims Nickname 'Paris of the East'


Beirut's café culture and arts scene made it the "Paris of the East" during most of the past century.
More on Top 1% How to Throw the Perfect Dinner PartyPortland's Beast Tames Refined PalatesPoconos: An Easy, East Coast Golf GetawayHotel Rooftop Pools: Maxin' Relaxin'Cannes Fest Will Sizzle Despite RecessionGolf Firm Tees Off With Big Names10 Ways to Avoid Becoming a Fashion VictimAmerican Airlines Spreads Its WingsKentucky Derby Betting: It's Horse SenseGolf Caddie Brings Passion to Map Business But all that changed with the 1975 civil war, which took the city out of tourist guidebooks and turned its downtown into a virtual no man's land. Despite a brief period of violence in southern Lebanon three years ago, Beirut has since regained its footing.


The city is undergoing a tourism revival. The downtown and waterfront Corniche areas are blossoming with boutiques from designers Versace, Elie Saab and Gucci. Restaurants are thriving as new additions La Plage at Café d' Orient, Centrale and Zinc attract local urbanites and well-heeled visitors. Beirut has even set its sights on hosting the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Tourism capital of the Middle East:

Unlike the man-made sprawl of Dubai, Beirut is a working city with a textured past that's evident in its mix of Ottoman architecture and glassy, modern high-rises.
The airport has been undergoing an expansion and renovation. Finding a top-notch hotel will soon become easier when two Western chains open sites this summer, offering competition to boutique lodgings Hotel Albergo and the Monroe Hotel.

The first new hotel is Le Gray by British hotelier Campbell Gray, the owner of London's One Aldwych and Carlisle Bay in Antigua. The rounded limestone building is located inside Beirut's Gate development. It will house three eateries, including the upscale Cosmopolitan Restaurant, a glassy loft-style space that will feature black leather banquettes and samples from Gray's art collection. There will be a rooftop pool and bar that will offer weekend entertainment.

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts will open its first Beirut outpost on the edge of the Mediterranean in the city's Central District this fall. The glass, sail-shaped hotel will offer 230 rooms and suites, as well as a rooftop pool, outdoor bar and club-style tanning deck. Visitors arriving by private yacht will have access to a private marina, making it easier to take a quick getaway to nearby Byblos

Summer beach hot spot:

Summer days in Beirut should be spent by the water. Locals pack their designer beach bags and head to clubs in Byblos and Kaslik in the north or Damour and Rmeileh in the south. While the beaches of central Beirut are picturesque, years of neglect and shipping have left the waters too polluted for swimming. The more glamorous beach clubs are in the north. In Byblos, there's the sleek Bay 183, where shirtless volleyball players frolic and DJs spin house tracks till the wee hours of dawn. The Cyan Beach Club is closer to downtown and features international DJs that play hip-hop classics with a Middle Eastern edge. In the south, a region affected by the 2006 strife, the recently renovated Oceana Beach Club attracts bikini-clad revelers who live in the area.


Sizzling-hot nightlife:

Once the sun sets on Beirut, the locals hit the streets in linen suits and silky sundresses and head for the dance clubs. Before midnight, visitors should hit Sky Bar's rooftop lounge, where they can take in views of the city's skyline while listening to remixed Jay-Z tracks.

At 1 a.m., they should make a break for B018, an underground dance party inside a former quarantine bunker. Line up a ride back to the hotel early; taxis are hard to come by at 3 a.m.

www.thestreet.com

The airport has been undergoing an expansion and renovation???????

I also questioned that statement also... maybe in the near future ??

It also says that the Le Gray is in the Beirut Gate development...its not

I read somewhere else tha it was :\ hrmmm

no Beirut Gate was where the sit in was on Martyrs square..Le Gray is by the Virgin Megastore

I felt like i needed to post this comment from the video i made

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nu-YiarUleo

i am swedish and when i went to visit lebanon it was amazing , to tell the truth its the most beautiful country ive ever been into , ive been into paris , madrid , Italia , and even in croatia , When i left lebanon i had this feeling that i want to move in and start making life, Its a very very beautiful country and will always be , no matter what !! look at 2:06. PARADISE

posted by
Tarekanouti123

beirut rocks:banana::banana::lol::lol:

btw most people i talk to say that lebanon gives the "energy, and the need to start over, to create a new life"

I felt like i needed to post this comment from the video i made

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nu-YiarUleo

i am swedish and when i went to visit lebanon it was amazing , to tell the truth its the most beautiful country ive ever been into , ive been into paris , madrid , Italia , and even in croatia , When i left lebanon i had this feeling that i want to move in and start making life, Its a very very beautiful country and will always be , no matter what !! look at 2:06. PARADISE

posted by
Tarekanouti123

beirut rocks:banana::banana::lol::lol:

Posted by tarek Anouti , he's definitely Lebanese :)

Still,Beirut ROCKS :banana2: