Tourism in Lebanon sees further decline

The tourism sector in Lebanon has seen a notable decline, with a deterioration in foreign visitors predominantly from the Gulf. Well-heeled visitors from the Gulf normally account for 65 percent of the country's tourists, but the number of Saudis, Kuwaitis and other Gulf tourists this June is 80 percent lower than in June last year. Lebanon is reeling from the spillover of war in neighbouring Syria, with deadly sectarian clashes, elections postponed, the absence of a government and the influx of half a million refugees. Early this summer, the six oil-producing Gulf monarchies sounded the death knell for this season's tourism when they told their citizens to avoid Lebanon for security reasons. Statistics from the tourism ministry show that the number of tourists in Lebanon reached 623,864 in the first six months of this year, witnessing a 12.69 percent decline from last year's figures. According to the figures, arrivals from European countries were at at the top of the list, with 9,788 French visitors, 7,639 German and 4,512 from Britain. Arab arrivals took the second place with a total of 36,506 visitors from countries including Iraq, Jordan and Egypt. A total of 29,066 visitors came from America, Brazil and Canada.