Lebanon's tourism contributes to more than 40% of the GDP: report

Experts in the field of tourism are expecting a great summer season in 2023, as many are speculating a boom in the tourism sector, with many Lebanese expatriates and tourists visiting the country.

Based on Asharq Business with Bloomberg, Lebanon hopes to achieve tourism revenues worth $9 billion by the end of 2023, at a time when the decline in the local currency is attracting more arrivals, according to Caretaker Minister of Tourism Walid Nassar. 

Lebanon's Tourism Minister expressed that the total number of tourists last year was one million and 700 thousand, with total cash revenues exceeding approximately $9 billion and a net amount of $6.4 billion. 

According to him, foreign tourists accounted for 25 percent of the arrivals during the past year, while the rest came through Lebanese citizens. He added that Lebanon expects that most foreign tourists will come from Arab countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait, and from outside the Arab world, including France, Germany, America, and Australia, at the same rate as last year. 

Tourism contributes more than 40 percent of the country's GDP, according to the minister's remarks via Asharq Business with Bloomberg, who said that the sector is the backbone of the Lebanese economy and has been a major contributor to the 2 percent growth rate.