Tourism News

[ramynasser]

Originally Posted by annie23

Yesss true,he's unrealistic ma that's why I put the report here loool,but still I'm hoping to get the 3 million record

Tourists are not spending anymore money due to very high costs.
It's incredible if you go to hard rock cafe you will find the simple 9000LL kefraya wine at 58000 LL it's insaaaane! oh and the simple almaza beer of 1500LL at 9000LL!!
We should fight to stop that!

[annie23]

Does Hard Rock still exist????You should see Zaatar w Zait and Crepaway prices

[ramynasser]

Originally Posted by annie23

Does Hard Rock still exist????You should see Zaatar w Zait and Crepaway prices

2500LL small bottle of water(you can buy it at 500LL in small shops). 9000LL small crepe. 9000LL Ice cream (for god sake) Coffee at Lina's 9000LL!!!!!!!!!!! why??

I understand they must increase prices in order to adjust their employees salaries. However there is a difference between increasing prices and stealing. How can we fight that ? We can't even take a cab anymore. Sth must be done immediately. The government is always broke and is losing money instead of gaining it because again politicians are stealing.

Recently all prices increased way before government declared bonuses. lol it's unbelievable

[AmeriLEB]

Well its supply and demand if they are willing to pay great..if not the business has to lower prices or closes

[Hassoun]

Expect more touristic reports about Lebanon on CNN

By Rami on April 27, 2012 in Lebanon



According to this article in Al-Akhbar today, the Lebanese ministry of tourism is planning to pay one million dollars to CNN for promotional reports and programs about Lebanon over a period of 2 months in order to boost the tourism sector after the number of tourists visiting Lebanon declined by 300,000 in 2011 due the instability in Syria.

The deal will include reports about Lebanon to be featured in “Quest Means Business” by Richard Quest, “World Business Today”, and a dedicated program called “Eye on Lebanon” for a whole week.

I hope this improves Lebanon’s image abroad for a change, and maybe stops people from comparing ever messed up place to Beirut.

Source:

http://www.plus961.com/2012/04/expec...ebanon-on-cnn/

[ramynasser]

Originally Posted by Hassoun

Expect more touristic reports about Lebanon on CNN

By Rami on April 27, 2012 in Lebanon



According to this article in Al-Akhbar today, the Lebanese ministry of tourism is planning to pay one million dollars to CNN for promotional reports and programs about Lebanon over a period of 2 months in order to boost the tourism sector after the number of tourists visiting Lebanon declined by 300,000 in 2011 due the instability in Syria.

The deal will include reports about Lebanon to be featured in “Quest Means Business” by Richard Quest, “World Business Today”, and a dedicated program called “Eye on Lebanon” for a whole week.

I hope this improves Lebanon’s image abroad for a change, and maybe stops people from comparing ever messed up place to Beirut.

Source:

http://www.plus961.com/2012/04/expec...ebanon-on-cnn/

Now that's what i am talkin about! this should have been done long time ago!

[annie23]

Tourists cancel hotel reservations in Lebanon May 21, 2012 01:27 AM By Mohamad El Amin The Daily Star


BEIRUT: North Lebanon’s volatile security conditions could threaten the country’s peak tourist season as hotels started to report cancellations Sunday, only one day after three Arab Gulf States warned citizens against vacationing in Beirut.

All except one of several hotels contacted by The Daily Star admitted that they have started to see cancellations since last week, when clashes started in Tripoli, Lebanon’s second-biggest city.

While some hotels reported that only a handful of clients have cancelled so far, others said they have already seen cancellations as high as 30 percent. Many hotels admitted seeing cancellations but refused to provide numbers, citing confidentiality issues.

A staff member at Monroe Hotel, located on the seaside of the Beirut Central District, told The Daily Star that cancellations have ranged from 25 to 30 percent of all reservations since the clashes started last week.

“Today alone we received a cancellation request for a 50-person tourist group,” said a reservation desk employee at the hotel.

The reservation desk of the Commodore Hotel in Hamra said their cancellations amounted to the equivalent of 50 nights of rooms.

“The figure stands between 5 and 10 percent of all reservations,” the employee said, adding that the majority of cancellations came from citizens of Gulf Cooperation Council states.

The employee noted that many Arab and Western countries are taking measures to prevent citizens from visiting Lebanon because of security conditions.

Staff at Sheraton Four Points, a four-star Sheraton hotel in Verdun, reported that some 11 percent of bookings were cancelled since the fighting in Tripoli started.

The employee added that Sunday saw many GCC citizens cancelling reservations based on warnings issued by their respective countries.

The cancellations followed statements issued by the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain Saturday. The three countries called on their citizens to avoid travel to Lebanon and asked for those in the country to depart given the tense security situation.

The situation was only slightly better at Phoenicia and Habtoor Grand, two of the capital’s biggest hotels, where reservation desk staff said they have seen cancellations at a rate of around 5 percent each.

But staff at the two hotels said they expected more cancellations to follow next week, as many travel agencies were closed Sunday.

Last week armed clashes between the rival neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen in Tripoli claimed the lives of 11 people.

The Lebanese Army, which deployed to the area Tuesday, brought an end to the fighting and imposed a truce. But security across north Lebanon deteriorated Sunday when two Muslim preachers were killed in Akkar.

The events raised questions on whether Lebanon would be able to attract the number of tourists and expats that it usually expects this time of year. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, Lebanon depends on tourism for 10 percent of its GDP, equivalent to around $4.3 billion.

Ernst & Young’s benchmark survey of the Middle East hotel sector indicated last month that the average occupancy rate at hotels in Beirut increased to 66 percent in the first quarter of 2012 compared to 47 percent in the same quarter last year.

The stronger figures had suggested recovery from 2011 slump, when turmoil across neighboring Syria and other Arab countries took a heavy toll on the tourism sector. Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud earlier called on the authorities to contain the clashes in the north, warning that further escalation would harm summer tourism.

[AmeriLEB]

http://english.alarabiya.net/article...25/216487.html

[Hassoun]

all we need now is tourists to go there

[ramynasser]

now we are officially screwed ...

[annie23]

Occupancy drops at hotels outside Beirut June 04, 2012 01:21 AM By Mohamad El Amin The Daily Star


BEIRUT: Hotels outside Lebanon’s capital are operating at near zero-occupancy levels, a top industry official said over the weekend.

However, he added that the first six months of 2012 had seen a sizable 30 percent improvement in occupancy rates at Beirut hotels.

“We cannot talk about an occupancy percentage [in hotels outside of Beirut]. In fact reservations are lower by more than 50 percent and almost non-existent in some places,” head of the Hotels Association Pierre Achkar told local TV station MTV Saturday.

The higher occupancy rates in Beirut hotels were mainly due to a boom in conference and business tourism seen during the first half of 2012, Achkar said.

A number of hotels in Jezzine, Bhamdoun, Alley and Ehden contacted by The Daily Star confirmed Achkar’s statements, saying they have recently seen nearly 50 percent cancellations in reservations and low occupancy levels compared to the same period last year.

A staff member of the reservation desk at Iris Flower Hotel, in south Lebanon’s Jezzine province, said the hotel had no visitors at a time of the year when occupancy rates are usually high.

The same goes for Sheraton Bhamdoun. A staff member of the reservation desk said the hotel had seen a 50 percent fall in reservations compared to the same period last year and sizable cancellations over the past weeks.

Ehden Country Club hotel located in the northern town of Ehden, where the situation is particularly more sensitive due to the tense situation in nearby Tripoli, is also suffering from a declining number of visitors.

A staff member told The Daily Star that “whenever clashes in the north erupt, they see cancellations exceeding 50 percent.”

“But the hotel has not seen cancellations for reservations later this summer,” he said, adding however, that “many visitors would cancel their reservations if the deteriorating security conditions persist.”

The deteriorating security situation in Lebanon recently led Gulf states including Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates to warn their citizens against visiting Lebanon and urge those residing here to leave.

Observers say the notices are practically equivalent to travel bans.

Dismissing security concerns, Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud said travel warnings were premature and could significantly harm the Lebanese economy as he reiterated hope in reviving the tourism season.

“With all due [respect to Arab states], there is hastiness and political [motives] behind the decisions,” Abboud said, adding that friendly countries shouldn’t participate in what he described as an economic siege of Lebanon.

Abboud also praised Saudi Arabia for not rushing into issuing a similar notice. “Arab tourists are most welcome, boycotting Lebanon is not rational,” he said at an event to announce the start of the summer tourism season in Byblos.

Abboud vowed to increase efforts aimed at boosting the tourism industry, promising to develop the concept of yearlong tourism, and urged Lebanese expats to visit their home country.

[wissarb]

Vietnam and Beirut nominated for food destination award 13 Jun 2012 on Opodo.co.uk


Vietnam and Beirut are among the nominees vying for the title of 'destination of the year' in the inaugural readers' awards programme from Food and Travel magazine.

The south-east Asian nation and the Lebanese capital will be competing with more established tourist hotspots such as Paris, New York and Barcelona for the accolade, while Singapore, Istanbul, Hong Kong, Stockholm, Sardinia and San Sebastian have also been nominated.

Alex Mead, editor of Food and Travel, said the magazine always expected this category to be fiercely contested and to attract a high number of votes.

'It's a testament to the improving accessibility to Vietnam and Beirut reappearing on everyone's bucket list that they feature along with some of the gourmet traveller's traditional favourites in America, France, Spain and Italy,' he added.

The publication's reader awards programme was launched to celebrate the release of its 150th issue in October this year.

Winners in all categories - which include restaurant, hotel and airline of the year - will be announced at a ceremony in London on 3 September.

http://news.opodo.co.uk/NewsDetails/...ination_award_

Food and Travel magazine voting page : http://www.foodandtravel.com/awards

[annie23]

Number of passengers at Beirut airport up 15 percent
June 15, 2012 01:40 AM

The Daily Star



An aircraft lands at Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon.



BEIRUT: The number of passengers at Rafik Hariri International Airport increased 15 percent in the first five months of 2012, compared to the same period last year, said a report issued by the Directorate-General of Aviation Thursday.

The number of passengers during the period, the report added, increased to 2,204,540, up by 330,681 passengers.

In May, passengers increased 5.5 percent compared to the same month in 2011, the report said. In May, the number of incoming passengers increased 5.94 percent while outbound passengers increased by 4.8 percent.

The number of transit passengers soared 18.83 percent in the same month. Meanwhile, arrival and departure flights at the airport increased by 6.11 and 6.17 percent respectively.

Air shipping through the airport also increased as exports and imports rose 10 and 13.33 percent respectively.

The increase in the airport’s activity came despite reports of a dwindling number of tourists entering the country in 2012.

[annie23]

Local businesses lament ailing tourism season June 25, 2012 01:30 AM By Mohamad El Amin The Daily Star

BEIRUT: Faced with what they describe as the slowest start in years, communities in Lebanon’s tourism-dependent towns of Bhamdoun and Aley fear a pitiable summer season.

From his tiny real estate office at the heart of the Bhamdoun market, which was unusually devoid of tourists for this time of year, Akram Abul Hosn, a broker, said the season was far below his expectations.

“The season is very, very hard and we should not blame the tourists but our country’s terrible politics and the unprecedented deterioration in public services, particularly electricity and water,” he said.

Abul Hosn, who manages a furnished apartments business, said he had no occupants and few reservations for the rest of the summer. The apartments, he added, used to be fully booked by Gulf nationals for the entire summer.

He said a Saudi family had rented one of his flats for 15 days, only to cut their stay short after two days due severe electricity rationing that exceeded 20 hours a day. “I cannot run the generators 24 hours a day and buy hundreds of liters of water every week. I simply cannot afford it,” he added.

When asked whether he thought the situation would improve later this summer, Abul Hosn seemed pessimistic.

“We have to remain hopeful, otherwise we would go out of business. But taking into consideration the political and security situation I doubt we will see any improvement,” he said.

“The only foreigners coming these days are those who own property in the area and they come to check up on their houses,” he said. “These are more like us locals and contribute [only] slightly to the local economy.”

Khaled Ali, Ali Abdul-Rahman and Salam Ali, three Kuwaiti Bhamdoun homeowners, echoed Abul Hosn’s remarks while sipping coffee and listening to a lengthy Umm Kalthoum song in front of an office they co-manage in the same town.

“Everything is great. Security is steady, and there’s an abundant supply of water and electricity,” all three remarked sarcastically when queried by The Daily Star.

“These services are essential issues for tourism, in fact [even] for a proper life,” complained Abdul-Rahman.

“We are not strangers here. We own houses and come back every year for the summer. But there are almost no tourists,” he added.

When asked whether travel warnings issued by several GCC countries were responsible for the lack of visitors, Salam Ali said it was more about actual security problems that plagued Lebanon over the past few weeks.

“How can you expect tourists to come when even the airport road was blocked,” he said. “Much more than half of Kuwaitis, who are regular visitors in Bhamdoun, would not visit Lebanon,” Abdul-Rahman said.

The families of the three men even went back home after clashes in Tripoli erupted last month. The kidnapping of 11 Lebanese pilgrims in Syria, Abdul-Rahman added, sparked fears that violence would spill over to Lebanon, they pointed out.

“With the exception of the summer of 2006, this is for sure one of the worst years for tourism,” Khaled Ali pointed out, referring to Israel’s 2006 war against Lebanon.

Michel Karam, a souvenir vendor at the Bhamdoun market, said he feared he took a high risk investing money in the business this year.

“This year our risk is high,” he said, explaining that he invested thousands of dollars in renovations only to see business falling to a shadow of what it had been over the past few years.

“If things do not improve in the next two weeks, we will be forced to shut down,” he added, pointing out that rent and other expenses were too costly to bear at the current level of business.

“The summer season ended before it had even started,” said Osta Abou Rjaily, head of Bhamdoun’s municipality. “The borders are closed, a war in a neighboring country, travel warnings, domestic political skirmishes, Ramadan early this summer, expensive fuel ... Everything is against us.”

Firas al-Awar, a reservations officer at Safir, a five-star Bhamdoun hotel, said 90 percent of reservations had been cancelled after the clashes in Tripoli erupted. “Now occupancy remains low, not exceeding 20 to 30 percent,” he added. “It seems that we do not have a season this year.”

Nevertheless, Jamil Zahlan, an Aley restaurant owner, said he still expected a relatively good season, but admitted most of his business was local.

But Kamal Saab, who manages another eatery on the main street in Aley, disagrees with Zahlan. “We are seeing less than 50 percent of the usual business,” he said. “We had started to see tourists from the Gulf, but most left after travel warnings were issued.”

The rather dim view is shared by a reservations officer at Sobh Hotel on Aley’s main street. “It is a very bad season,” he said. “We have no occupants at the hotel right now,” he added.

But pointing to new works conducted by the municipality in the town’s main street, Abou Rjaily said “the pavement was not repaired only for today, the tree was not planted only for this year,” he added. “All I can say is that we are ready. We are ready by all means. If they come we will serve them, if they do not we will serve them next year.”

[AmeriLEB]

Lebanon seeks to win tourists back

Friday, Jun 29, 2012

The current security situation in Lebanon, that warranted a recent travel ban by four Gulf states, has been described by its top tourism official, as ‘crazy’.

“However, even crazy women have their charm that you do not want to miss,” Fadi Abboud, Lebanese Tourism Minister, tells Gulf News in an exclusive interview, as he tries to describe the attractions of his country, despite difficulties it is experiencing because of the bloody political crisis in neighbouring Syria.

“It is the most beautiful piece of land and Beirut is perhaps the most cosmopolitan city in the world. So, despite all that is happening in and around us, Lebanon’s charm and its tourism appeal has not disappeared. Lebanon remains a safe destination for tourists.”

Tourism, which contributes 25 per cent to its gross domestic product - has constantly been challenged by regional conflicts between Arab countries and Israel that reshape its domestic politics and often turns bloody.

Due to this, Lebanon’s inbound tourism is witnessing a decline. Last year, 1.65 million tourists visited Lebanon. It would be difficult to achieve the same this year.

“This year, we have already witnessed a 6 per cent decline in inbound tourists during the first five months of the year, due to the effects of the crisis in Syria,” he said.

The latest influx of Syrian refugees has prompted the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait to impose a travel ban on their citizens from travelling to Lebanon.

That’s why, for Abboud - the top salesman of his country’s attractions - tourism promotion has remained an uphill task. Despite the odds, he remains optimistic. “The situation is not that bad. I can understand the concerns of the governments here on the safety of their citizens. However, the situation has been blown out of proportion by the media,” Abboud says. “I am here to invite the respective governments to send fact-finding missions that would help them to reassess the situation and hopefully reverse their decisions.”

Lebanon, a relatively small Arab country that occupies 10,452 square kilometres on the Mediterranean coast, is one of the top tourism destinations in the region. It’s eventful history that dates back to thousands of years, had left indelible marks all over the country that attracts tourists round the year due to favourable climate supported by mountain ranges and pristine beach.

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) earlier this year estimated that Lebanon’s tourism industry will contribute $4.3 billion to the country’s economy in 2012, equivalent to around 10 percent of GDP. WTTC forecasts, issued prior to the latest refugee crisis, said, tourism will generate $15.5 billion or 35.5 percent of overall economic activity in Lebanon in 2012, including 461,000 jobs representing 33.8 per cent of total employment in 2012.

Its 4 million population share a $43 billion economy that is expected to grow at 3 per cent this year, according to the projections by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), despite challenges.

“Lebanon has been impacted by the global slowdown and regional unrest,” IMF Deputy Managing Director Nemat Shafik, said during her visit to the country last month. “Domestic political and regional uncertainties have had their toll on growth in the country. Though growth is expected to pick up this year, the IMF’s projection of about 3 per cent is well below Lebanon’s potential.”

Abboud - who retained the tourism portfolio despite changes in Lebanon’s government and politics and its complex cabinet composition where portfolios are distributed based on a politician’s religious identity than political ideology - is on a global marketing tour to promote tourism to his country.

The GCC is a key market for Lebanese tourism industry - that supports 250,000 jobs. “Although visitors from the Gulf states represents only 7 per cent of the total inbound tourists, they represent about 25 per cent of the overall spending by foreign tourists,” Abboud says.

That pretty much pushes up the per capita spending by foreign tourists to $4,000 - which is one of the highest in the world.

The Syrian crisis has already begun to take its tolls on the economy. Lebanon receives 350,000 tourists from the neighbouring countries who drive overland to Lebanon, including 150,000 from Jordan and 150,000 from Iran. That traffic has stopped.

Tourism proceeds have already declined from $8 billion in 2010 to $7 billion in 2011. This year, the country could be lucky to achieve the same. So, Abboud is in a hurry to get back the high-spending Gulf tourists this summer that could help him regain some of the lost ground.

A large number of GCC residents travel every summer to various destinations to beat the summer heat. Abboud wants to benefit from the summer exodus. However, the travel advisory came at just the wrong time - and he wants it reversed.

His country is also tapping the large expatriate community in the Gulf. Earlier, it used to take a few weeks to get a Lebanese visa for nationals of certain countries. However, foreign nationals of any country living in the Gulf now can get a visa upon arrival in Lebanon.

“We have started this recently. Any Gulf resident with a valid visa and a return ticket are eligible for visa upon arrival at the airport. I urge all expatriates to visit Lebanon.”

Lebanon is also a top recipient of Gulf investment. UAE investors have so far pumped in $2 billion in the country - mostly in hotels and tourism projects.

Dubai’s Al Habtoor has built two hotels and a park while Majid Al Futtaim Group is developing the largest mall in Beirut with an indoor ski - a newer version of its indoor ski at the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai. Besides, Abu Dhabi-based Rotana Hotels and Resorts operate hotels in Lebanon.

Abboud has also started a campaign to reach out to the 15-million-strong Lebanese diaspora that includes some of the world’s richest and people spread across six continents. Brazil is the largest host of Lebanese people, including 8 million - double the Lebanese population, 3.3 million in the United States, more than a million in Argentina and half a million each in Australia and Canada.

Due to the situation, hotel rates are cheap. “This is a good time to bargain and I would suggest that all tourists seek a good bargain and benefit from this,” Abboud says.

By Saifur Rahman Business Editor

© Gulf News 2012. All rights reserved.

[Hassoun]

So , CITY CENTER wil lhave an indoor ski slope??? i don't think so, it doesn't say that on their page

[wissarb]

a ski slope? that would be a disingenious waste of space and capital. Mountains are not off sight and quite clearly visible from the site of the construction in case they've missed it. I would rather see an ice skating arena if they insist on such a project theme.

[Hassoun]

Miami's Nikki Beach launches luxury Lebanon resort

Miami’s Nikki Beach Hotels & Resorts has partnered with Lebanon-based developer Zardman to launch its first resort and spa in Lebanon, due to open in 2014.

The luxury resort will be located on the Damour coastline and will feature 25 villas, a boutique hotel and the signature Nikki Beach Club.

"We are very excited to bring Nikki Beach to Lebanon as we trust the destination is a natural fit for our brand. Lebanon is a regional reference for hospitality and entertainment and we intend to bring the best of both, establishing a new benchmark of excellence for luxury lifestyle boutique hotels," Jihad Khoury, CEO of Nikki Beach Hotel & Resorts, said in a statement.

Tarek Zard, chairman of Zardman Real Estate, added: "Aside from the obvious benefit to the Lebanese economy, with job creation and large amounts of real-estate investment, Nikki Beach is part of our ambitious plan to expand and create new projects all over Lebanon as well as abroad".

The hotel has been designed by Soma architects with interior design by Gatserelia design.

Nikki Beach Hotels and Resorts, recognised for its “lavish parties, jet-setting clientele and exotic venues, is expected to make its Middle East debut this year with the launch of The Pearl, Nikki Beach Resort & Spa located on The Pearl-Qatar in Doha.

RENDERS:

http://www.hoteliermiddleeast.com/pi...h-nikki-beach/

[AmeriLEB]

Originally Posted by Hassoun

Miami's Nikki Beach launches luxury Lebanon resort

Miami’s Nikki Beach Hotels & Resorts has partnered with Lebanon-based developer Zardman to launch its first resort and spa in Lebanon, due to open in 2014.

The luxury resort will be located on the Damour coastline and will feature 25 villas, a boutique hotel and the signature Nikki Beach Club.

"We are very excited to bring Nikki Beach to Lebanon as we trust the destination is a natural fit for our brand. Lebanon is a regional reference for hospitality and entertainment and we intend to bring the best of both, establishing a new benchmark of excellence for luxury lifestyle boutique hotels," Jihad Khoury, CEO of Nikki Beach Hotel & Resorts, said in a statement.

Tarek Zard, chairman of Zardman Real Estate, added: "Aside from the obvious benefit to the Lebanese economy, with job creation and large amounts of real-estate investment, Nikki Beach is part of our ambitious plan to expand and create new projects all over Lebanon as well as abroad".

The hotel has been designed by Soma architects with interior design by Gatserelia design.

Nikki Beach Hotels and Resorts, recognised for its “lavish parties, jet-setting clientele and exotic venues, is expected to make its Middle East debut this year with the launch of The Pearl, Nikki Beach Resort & Spa located on The Pearl-Qatar in Doha.

RENDERS:

http://www.hoteliermiddleeast.com/pi...h-nikki-beach/

AwesomeNews!!!!!

[annie23]

Wooow coool