INTRA-DRUZE VIOLENCE HAS LEBANON’S TOURISM MINISTER CONCERNED
▶ The country had been hoping to attract more visitors this year, but the conflict in Syria and other security concerns continue to prove obstacles
Lebanese Tourism Minister Avedis Guidanian said he was worried about the negative consequences on the economy of intra-Druze clashes that earlier this month left two people dead.
Mr Guidanian informed President Michel Aoun of his concerns for the tourism sector after a minister’s two bodyguards were killed in violence between the country’s rival Druze parties on June 30 in the region of Aley, just North of Chouf, the historical heartland of the Druze community.
The Progressive Socialist Party, the main Druze party in Lebanon, and the smaller Lebanese Democratic Party blame each other for the shooting that brought back memories of the civil war that ended nearly three decades ago.
“I have been disgusted by what has happened on the ground,” said Mr Guidanian.
“We hope that we can overcome these problems in the coming days.”
The minister said he told Mr Aoun that “if the consequences [of the incident] were not contained, we fear that there will be an impact on the tourism sector”.
Prime Minister Saad Hariri has postponed convening the Cabinet since the fighting to avoid fuelling tensions between the two Druze parties and their allies.
Tensions, however, seem to be slowly abating.
The state-run National News Agency reported that Elie Ferzli, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, said after a meeting with Mr Hariri on Wednesday that there was “no doubt” there would be a Cabinet meeting soon.
Along with construction, tourism is one of the local economy’s main drivers but security problems regularly scare tourists away.
Tourism has been sluggish since the outbreak of the civil war in Syria in 2011.
“The tourism sector has suffered for eight years, and there was great hope that this year it would get better again,” Mr Guidanian said.
The minister said he remained optimistic about the tourism sector, indicating that he had not recorded any cancellations of hotel bookings in Aley since violence flared up 10 days ago.
According to Mr Guidanian, tourist arrivals during the first six months of the year were “very encouraging”.
He said more than 100,000 tourists had come from Europe, injecting $100 million (Dh367.3m) into the local economy. Arrivals from France increased by 30 per cent compared to the same period last year.
The number of tourists from Arab countries, traditionally the biggest spenders, has increased compared to last year despite arrivals remaining lower than in 2010, Lebanon’s peak year for tourism.
Mr Guidanian said that 44,000 tourists from Saudi Arabia came to Lebanon between January and June, a 100 per cent increase compared to the first six months of last year but still 37 per cent less than in 2010. “Hopefully these numbers will improve in July and August,” he said.
There were also significantly fewer Jordanians visiting Lebanon during the first six months of this year – 43,000 – than in the same period in 2010, when 132,000 visited. According to Mr Guidanian, the main reason for this decline is the difficulty in reaching Lebanon by land because of the Syrian crisis.
I have been disgusted by what has happened ... we hope that we can overcome these problems in the coming days AVEDIS GUIDANIAN Lebanese Tourism Minister