Sun, Jun 01, 2008 page12

• Lebanon's tourism phoenix rises again

  Years of violence almost destroyed what was once the country's economic lifeblood, but since Lebanese leaders came to an agreement last month, it looks like the industry is heating up

  • By Lamia Radia / AFP
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  Two years ago it was the war between Hezbollah and Israel, last year the struggle against Fatah al-Islam militants in the north and this year internal sectarian clashes dragged Lebanon to the brink of a new civil war.

  For three consecutive seasons tourism revenue, once the country’s lifeblood, was reduced to a trickle by violence and political uncertainty. But now it is receiving a much-needed transfusion.

  Reservations have begun pouring into this land of sun, sea and mountains, and a bumper tourism season is predicted after years of instability.

  

  A Lebanese woman sunbathes at Beirut's landmark St. George's Hotel on Thursday. Reservations are raining in on Lebanon, foreshadowing a hot tourist season after years of instability and the return of calm to the country last week.

  PHOTO: AFP

  There was a collective sigh of relief as calm returned last month after Lebanese leaders came to an agreement in Qatar that ended a long-running political crisis.

  “The ink on the Doha agreement wasn’t dry yet and the phones were ringing off the hook. From the Gulf, from Europe, from everywhere, we’re booked up until the end of the summer,” said Mary Shwairy, head of public relations at the upscale Phoenicia Hotel in Beirut.

  “Tourism is bouncing back in a big way — short stays, long stays, conferences, weddings of returning Lebanese who live abroad,” she said.

  Caretaker Tourism Minister Joseph Sarkis said he expects this year’s figures to be the best for years.

  “By the end of April we had only received 280,000 visitors because of the security situation. Now we expect between 1.3 and 1.6 million — the same projected figure for summer 2006, which had seemed to be the most promising,” he said.

  “In 2006, about US$4.4 billion in tourism revenue was projected. Only about US$1.5 billion came in,” Sarkis said.

  That summer’s tourism prospects were shattered by Israel’s 34-day war in July and August — prime holiday months — against the Shiite Hezbollah movement.

  The vicious conflict between the army and Islamist militants in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared, north of the country’s second city of Tripoli, killed tourism last year.

  That added to a prolonged political crisis between the ruling bloc and the opposition, and culminated in clashes that erupted on May 7 this year, leaving 65 people dead and much of mostly Muslim west Beirut in Hezbollah hands.

  It could have been the final straw for tourism.

  But the May 21 agreement in Qatar restored calm. It led to the election of Michel Sleiman as president, a post that had been vacant for more than five months because of political squabbling.

  It also saw the lifting of an opposition sit-in that had throttled business life in central Beirut for a year and a half.

  Since the Doha agreement there has been “a 30 percent increase in the number of expected tourists compared with last year. Hotels are hiring extra staff and the airlines are adding extra flights,” Sarkis said.

  “Forty percent of the tourists are Arab, 25 percent are European and the rest are of various nationalities. Of the Arabs, 40 percent are Jordanian who come in large numbers since visa requirements were waived three years ago. They are followed by Saudis, Kuwaitis, Iraqis and Emiratis,” he said.

  Sarkis said Lebanese expatriates spend large sums of money when they return to the homeland.

  “Nature and a love of life are Lebanon’s greatest attractions,” he said. “The Arabs come for the refreshing climate, night clubs and restaurants. Europeans for the archaeological sites” such as Baalbek or Tyre.

  In another sign of recovery, the popular Beiteddine and Baalbek music festivals, silenced for two years, will return next month. The same organizers are sponsoring a concert by Lebanese-born pop star Mika in Beirut on July 27.

  Popular summer destinations in Lebanon include the mountain towns of Aley, Bhamdun, Brummana and Beit Mery. In winter, the ski resorts of Faraya and Faqra are thronged with visitors.

  Aley, which saw heavy fighting in early May, is now preparing to double its population over the tourism season.

  “Restaurants and cafes that were closed for two years have reopened in record time over the last few days,” municipal official Essam Ebeid said.

  “Aley gets as many tourists as its 40,000 inhabitants — mostly Qataris, Saudis and Kuwaitis,” he said. “But the season will actually be longer than the three summer months because many Arabs and expatriates own homes here.”

  Ebeid cited property prices as a sign of the return of visitors.

  “Prices have soared by about a third since the Doha agreement,” he said.

  Before the accord was reached “we were expecting fighters armed to the teeth, but fortunately now we welcome tourists with flowers.”
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