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The director of the Travel and Tourism Office Owners Union, Jean Abboud, describes the tourist movement during the festive period as “paralyzed”, as the percentage of expatriates and tourists arriving in Lebanon decreased by 70% compared to the last year, which was not good, stating in an interview with “Asharq Al-Awsat” that the Beirut International Airport was Usually during this period of each year it receives about 13 thousand passengers per day, but this year it reached the highest daily number with 3500 passengers, which makes the comparison not even possible.
Abboud points out that hotels in Lebanon are almost empty, while the occupancy rate in them is usually very high during this month, adding that, for example, the occupancy rate in hotels in Beirut does not exceed 5%.
The simple movement in the tourism sector is brought back by Abboud to a very small number of expats who came from neighboring countries to celebrate with their families in Lebanon, as Lebanese from far away countries like the United States and Canada did not come this year. As for tourists, it is not possible to speak of movement, due to the “Crown” and the procedures of airports and airlines that operate with an operating capacity that does not exceed 30% of their general capacity.
Abboud notes that this year’s prices, and if we count them on a dollar basis, have dropped significantly, so the New Year’s Eve that cost between $ 500 and a thousand for two people last year has been made available for just two hundred. dollars this year, but this drop benefits those who pay in dollars, that is. Expats and tourists who did not come.
As for the internal tourist movement, the situation seems to be getting worse, according to Abboud, since it is not possible to count on Lebanese residing in Lebanon. In addition to the decline in their purchasing power with the inflation rate estimated at 200% and the Crown epidemic, there has been talk recently of the instability of the security situation A major role in their lack of interest in holiday reservations and hotels, especially in areas that have always been busy on Christmas and New Years nights.
