Lebanon hopes for stability so foreigners return

updated 12:01 p.m. ET Oct. 30, 2006

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Foreign tourists used to pop into Sandra Spanioli’s gift shop in a five-star Beirut hotel every few minutes to buy a magazine, a map or a postcard. Now, she’s lucky to see 20 customers a day.

Lebanon’s tourism industry was on track to break records this year before the war between Israel and Hezbollah broke out July 12 and brought business at hotels, restaurants and shops to a crashing halt.

Two months after the Aug. 14 cease-fire, few tourists are trickling into Lebanon. Industry experts say the travel business will take two years to rebound, and then only if the country remains stable and safe, an uncertain prospect.

“Business is not good right now,” said Spanioli as she stood behind the counter at The Visitor Books & Gifts. “Perhaps it could get better, but that’s only if the political situation calms down a bit.”

A small country on the Mediterranean Sea, Lebanon has no significant natural resources and relies heavily on tourism, which accounts for about 12 percent of national revenue.

The industry suffered some turbulence after the February 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, but Lebanon enjoyed a period of relative calm after Syria withdrew its troops two months later and tourists crowded Beirut’s beaches and Baalbek’s ancient ruins.

Before the war, Tourism Minister Joe Sarkis was predicting a record 1.6 million visitors in 2006, with revenues topping $2 billion.

But the rosy outlook ended with the hostilities, replaced by more sullen forecasts. The Beirut airport was closed for more than a month after it was attacked by Israeli warplanes and gunboats. An oil spill caused by Israeli airstrikes tainted Beirut’s beaches and frescoes in a Roman-era tomb in the southern port city of Tyre were shaken to the ground.

Nada Sardouk Ghandour, the Ministry of Tourism’s general director, said the amount of lost revenue has not yet been calculated, but small- and medium-sized businesses were most affected.

“It was paradise to hell, that’s what happened,” Ghandour said. “Loss and catastrophe happened to Lebanon’s economy, including the tourism industry.”

According to Ministry of Tourism statistics, 26,684 people arrived in Lebanon in August — an 85.4 percent decrease from the same month last year. In September, the number jumped to more than 67,000 — a majority from other Arab countries — but it was still nearly 43 percent less than September 2005. October figures were not available.

Lebanon had hoped for a slight bump in visitors during last week’s Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, when throngs of mostly Arab tourists usually flock to the country.

Ghandour said hotels averaged between 40 and 60 percent occupancy during the holiday. A scattering of tourists from other Arab countries could be seen dining at Beirut’s swanky restaurants, and a few tour buses could be seen on city streets.

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