With its golden beaches, beautiful mountains, rich history and frenetic nightlife, Lebanon has long relied on tourism as an important source of national income. Tourism was once a very important contributor to Lebanon's economy. The war...
moreWith its golden beaches, beautiful mountains, rich history and frenetic nightlife, Lebanon has long relied on tourism as an important source of national income. Tourism was once a very important contributor to Lebanon's economy. The war in Lebanon (1975-1991) has not only resulted in hundred thousands of deaths, injuries and the displacement of locals in governorates across the nation, but it has also damaged seriously its economy and infrastructure and especially devastated the tourism industry, leaving guides, agencies and shop owners without a source of steady income. In the years since 1991, Lebanon has attempted to rebuild much of its physical and economic infrastructure but tourism has yet to return to its pre-war levels.
Even if the tourism statistics on Lebanon are not reliable and even with all the insecurity remaining and all the ups and downs, the tourism sector was one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy in the past several years and that until the beginning of the Syrian crisis. During that period there has been a steady 10 to 14 percent increase in the number of tourists. As a result of this influx of tourists, several new hotels, guest houses, restaurants and nightclubs were established in Lebanon to host the potential increasing tourist flow and development touristic projects took place, supported sometimes by the international community.
In 2011, the Lebanese economy is cornered between a war in Syrian and a helpless public sector. The proximity to Syria, regular influx of refugees, ongoing cattle rustling and tension of border conflicts are concerns to any potential investor in the tourism sector. Rising political and sectarian tensions, a Lebanon travel ban by Gulf countries, and the impact of the war ravaging neighboring Syria have combined to decline badly tourism. Restaurants, nightclubs and hotels are reporting a drastic decline in business since the beginning of the year. For the past year, travel agents have suffered massive losses.
One of the main obstacles to the tourism industry is insecurity but there are some other bottlenecks too. The growth of this sector is linked to the need for high attention to the country’s infrastructure, the accessibility within rural areas. For sustainable tourism development through product diversification the government and other stakeholders need to develop facilities and especially to plan for a marketing strategy. Through this article we will try to explore solutions to develop a strategic planning for sustainable tourism in Lebanon.