FINANCIAL NEWS

Arab tourists to Lebanon down by 90% on Syrian unrest

09 Oct 2011

(MENAFN) Lebanese tourism minister, Fadi Abboud, said that due to the Syrian political upheaval, this year, the number of Arab tourists arriving to Lebanon dropped by 90 percent, reported Arab News.

Abboud added that the increase of violence in Syria slowed down the flow of tourists from the Gulf, Jordan and Iraq since they went to Lebanon by driving through its neighbor Syria.

He also said that tourism contributed with 22 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), nevertheless, in the year’s first half, revenues from the sector fell 20 percent.

It is worth noting that every year, around 600,000 Arab tourists drive through Syria into Lebanon, representing around a quarter of tourist arrivals to the country.

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