Military escalation threatens the tourist season in Lebanon economy

Beirut – The tourist season in Lebanon stands at the extension of a tide and islands, before Eid al -Adha, the indicators were vowing with a promising summer, with a strong return to Arab expatriates, especially from the Gulf states, but the Israeli raids were on Southern suburb Beirut, and the subsequent regional escalation between Iran and Israel, quickly dispelled these expectations, and the reservations decreased and the migrant movement stumbled.

And if the signs of recovery began to wave on the horizon again, the anxiety is still a betrayal of the owners of the sector.

A conditional return

The vice -president of the Restaurant, Cafés, cafes, parks and sweets union in Lebanon, Khaled Nuzha, told Al -Jazeera Net that before Eid al -Adha He was suggesting a promising summer, adding: “The reservations were excellent, especially from the Arab brothers, especially the Emiratis, and the Saudis were supposed to catch them, along with delegations from other Arab countries that started to arrive on the eve of the Eid.”

However, everything was changed. On June 5, the southern suburb was subjected to 9 violent Israeli strikes, followed by a noticeable decline in the tourist movement, according to a picnic, and the country was hardly picking its breath, until the confrontation broke out between Israel and Iran, and anxiety increased and some flights stopped temporarily, which affected reservations that were expected.

Despite this decline, Nuzha notes that the airlines have returned to work, and the reservations began to recover again, if slowly, and adds: “We hope for a good summer season, even if it is not at the level of the first expectations.”

The deputy head of the restaurant owners Syndicate explains that the sector in particular is counting on the Lebanese residing abroad, especially in the Gulf and African countries, who have prevented their repeated return from accumulated crises since 2019, from the financial collapse to the Korona pandemic, through the explosion of the Beirut port and the recent war. Nuzha is also betting on the return of Arab tourists, who have longer residences and high tourist spending, and they own summer homes in the mountainous areas.

The restaurant sector, which was secured before the crisis about 150 thousand jobs, works today during the season between 40 and 50 thousand people, including a large number of university students. Despite the absence of official support, Nuzha confirms that the institutions have stood up, “and continued from live meat”, in the absence of loans and the seizure of the owners ’money in banks.

He adds that the country is witnessing the opening of new restaurants, and “Rove Tops” along the coast, in addition to mountainous projects, which reflects complete readiness in the sector. He believes that the circumstances of the war indirectly contributed to the stimulation of domestic tourism, as it is not possible to travel to many.

By July 1, and the end of the school year in many countries, a picnic hopes to flow visitors in the coming weeks, “We need security, economic and political stability, as tourism does not grow in a vacuum,” adding that Lebanon has all the ingredients to be an integrated tourist destination, from monuments and history, to the sea and the mountain, wedding tourism, cosmetic, education, and religion.

Nuzha concludes with conditional optimism: “We aspire to a sustainable season that is not limited to holidays, and Lebanese tourism is able to advance when the incubating environment is available.”

Season under threat

On the other hand, the Hotel Owners Syndicate does not hide in Lebanon Its concern about the impact of the continuous security escalation on the tourism sector, which was counting on it to revive the summer season. Speaking to Al -Jazeera Net, the captain of hotel owners, Pierre Al -Ashqar, said, “The reservations before the outbreak of the war between Israel And Iran, before the attack on Beirut’s southern suburb, was much better than we are witnessing today. “

Al -Ashqar pointed out that the past few weeks have witnessed a large wave of cancellation, “due to the closure of the atmosphere and the suspension of a number of flights, in addition to unstable security conditions.”

Despite the end of the direct confrontation between Iran and Israel, “the pace of the Israeli escalation in Lebanon is escalating daily,” according to Al -Ashqar, which raises hesitation among tourists, especially foreigners and Arabs, whose presence has declined significantly, even if it is not completely interrupted.

As for the Lebanese expatriates, in the opinion of the blond, they face two basic obstacles: First, it is not possible to travel as a result of canceling flights, and secondly, the high prices of tickets to double levels, which constitutes a great material burden.

Al -Ashqar concludes by saying: “It is true that Lebanon is characterized by the rapid restoration of life, but the tourist movement this summer is not as we aspired, and we are witnessing a clear decline between 20% and 30%, whether in the number of visitors or in the size of the incomes.”

Shying indicators

For his part, the head of the Syndicate of Tourism and Travel Offices, Jean Abboud, says that the repercussions of the military escalation between Israel And Iran She quickly appeared on the movement of expatriates to Lebanon. In a recent statement, he stressed that the number of flights coming to the country decreased by an estimated rate of 60%, which reflects the scale of the strike in the sector.

As for the departure tourism, Abboud says that between 30% and 40% of reservations abroad during July and August have been canceled so far, with expectations of this percentage to rise with the approaching travel dates.