| 31 Aug 2009 |
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Tourists flock back as country regains image of stability
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31 August 2009
BEIRUT: By the end of 2009 over 2 million tourists are expected to descend upon Lebanon, making it a record year for visitors. The first post-war bump was recorded after the attacks of September 11, when Gulf Arabs became discouraged about the prospect of spending vacations in Europe and the US, due to “enhanced” security-related visa and travel measures.
But a dip then followed after the 2005 assassination of late Premier Rafik Hariri, and a devastating Israeli offensive the following year, as Lebanon regained its earlier associations with violence and instability.
Three years later, the tourism industry received an early boost when Beirut was named the number one place to go in 2009 by the New York Times; suddenly, the image of “party center” quickly replaced the images of television footage of destruction and war.
According to the Tourism Ministry, the number of visitors in February increased by 84.88 percent compared with the previous year. March saw an increase of 57.53 percent, as 123,469 tourists visited through the month.
By July, the figure of 1.1 million total arrivals cemented 2009 as a record year, with expectations of nearly double this figure as an end-of-year total, compared to 1.3 million visitors for all of 2008.
According to Pierre Ashkar, president of the Lebanese Hotels Association, many hotels are operating at 100 percent capacity this year, compared to rates of 70-80 percent rate last year.
Although most people prefer to stay in hotels within the capital, there has been a knock-on effect on surrounding areas, resulting in the high occupancy rates around the country.
The travel agency Nakhal has seen a 25 percent jump in business compared to last year. According to Nakhal, this year’s tourism performance deserves a score of “9 or 10” out of 10 compared to a modest 6 or 7 the previous year. Despite this subjective valuation, the figures reflect the way many people feel the year is going – nearly perfect.
Tourist industry figures say that alongside the traditional sites like the Baalbek ruins and Jeita Grotto, there’s been a big pick-up in demand for hiking and rafting in places like the Qadisha Valley and the Orontes River in the northern Bekaa Valley, mostly by young Europeans and members of the Lebanese diaspora.
The country has also seen another boom in medical tourism, as people take advantage of relatively inexpensive fees for dental work, plastic surgery or other procedures. But few reliable estimates of these sub-sectors are available.
Lebanon’s comparative advantage is in revenues per available hotel room, or revPAR growth. According to the international consultants Deloitte & Touche, Lebanon leads the world with a figure of $117, registering a huge rise of 124.4 percent.
This figure should be balanced by Lebanese expats and other numbers of tourists who stay with friends or relatives, meaning no hotel bills; on the other hand, the high number of Gulf Arab tourists are undoubtedly behind Lebanon’s status as a high-end destination.
Average room rates jumped by 30 percent this year, according to Deloitte & Touche.
The ministry’s official figures for February rank Arabs as being the biggest single group of tourists (mainly Saudi Arabians, Jordanians and Iraqis), constituting roughly half of the total of almost 97,000.
© Copyright The Daily Star 2009.
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