Achkar: Tourist numbers are plummeting amid shaky situation

Hotel Owners Association Chief Pierre Achkar told As-Safir daily that “had the political and security situation in Lebanon stabilized from the beginning of the year, the rate of tourists coming in the country would have by far exceeded that of any other Arab country”.  

“With a stable situation, Lebanon would have registered a growth rate far beyond the 7% recorded last year”, Achkar added.   Achkar said that, on the eve of Eid al-Adha, the capital is witnessing a 130% hotel reservations rate, adding that people who are no longer finding vacant rooms in hotels in Beirut are resorting to hotels outside the capital.  

“65 to 85% of rooms in Beirut hotels are booked, whereas the touristic activity in other regions is at its lowest in comparison with last year’s rate”, Ackhar said.   According to Achkar, during the past two months hotel occupancy rates reached only 10 to 30% due to the sharp decrease in the number of mainland tourists who used to spend their vacation outside the capital.    

According to a statistical study conducted by the Ministry of Tourism in September, the rate of Arab tourists has decreased by 39% i.e. 279,261 tourists. In fact, 430,709 tourists visited Lebanon compared with 709,970 tourists during the same period last year. In the first quarter of 2011, Arab tourists rates decreased by 49%. In contrast, the number of European tourists pouring to Lebanon during the first nine months of 2011 was down by 42,397. In fact, 374,745 tourists visited Lebanon in comparison with 417,142 tourists the same period last year.