Prime Minister Tammam Salam declared that Lebanon cannot have tourism without security and stability, noting that the security plan, which has been in effect since 10 months, is still ongoing across the country.
“We remain is the middle of a political crisis, Lebanon will not recover unless a president is elected,” he said.
For his part, Tourism Minister Michel Pharaon declared Wednesday that the tourism sector has witnessed a growth of 25%, noting that the project of developing rural tourism alone witnessed a growth of 5 to 10%.
During the Rural Tourism Conference held at the Grand Serail, the minister said that his ministry worked to compensate for the paralysis of the constitutional institutions, by launching projects followed up by sub-committees, to later be referred to a new cabinet.
On another note, Pharaon stressed the importance of supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces, who are defending the country.
“The army forces are defending the values of our civilization, without which we would lose what characterizes us within the Middle East,” he added.
In turn, Information Minister Ramzi Jreij said that the strategy of rural tourism was prepared by “Beyond Beirut” -a non-governmental organization- and was adopted by the Tourism Ministry.