Lebanon's tourism is under threat: Ramy

He saw that "the solution comes from politics" and said that populism and sectarianism had threatened Lebanese tourism, as the country came in fourth place in the Arab region.  

Ramy stated that "what is more dangerous than the crisis is the management of the crisis," calling the officials to elect a "reformist and inclusive" president.  

His statement came after the region witnessed a significant tourism boom in various Arab countries, including the Gulf.  

Lebanon's political and financial reality has resulted in a large-scale hotel closure outside Beirut.  

Pierre Achkar, President of the Lebanese Hotel Association, the Federation for Tourism Industries in Lebanon, and the National Council of Tourism in Lebanon, revealed that there had been closures of 3- and 4-star hotels as their operating rate touched zero, but assured that these hotels would resume their work in the summer.   

But despite the current economic crisis and financial reality, Lebanon's tourism generated $2.16 billion in the first half of 2022, an increase of 86 percent from 2021, based on figures released by Banque du Liban (BDL).  

In addition, Lebanon's Ministry of Tourism launched "Lebanon Snow Festival," a winter tourism campaign calling Lebanese expatriates and the diaspora, as well as foreign tourists, to visit the country and enjoy the snow and ski season while offering discounted prices for travel tickets until March 31, 2023.