On the eve of Eid al-Fitr…what does the tourism situation look like?

On the eve of Eid al-Fitr, Lebanon began to witness a significant movement of expatriates, as a number of Lebanese residing in the Gulf were recorded arriving to spend the Eid week with their families in Lebanon. What about the movement of tourists in light of the tense situation in the south and the escalation of Israeli threats against Lebanon?

Haitham Fawaz, owner of a travel agency, confirmed via “Lebanon 24” that “there are no reservations for foreign tourists at this time, and tourism offices are suffering from a difficult situation.”

He pointed out that “there are a very small percentage of reservations in hotels by Iraqis, Jordanians, Egyptians, and even Kuwaitis, and also by Lebanese expatriates who prefer to stay in the hotel for two or three days instead of staying in their homes or with their families, and this matter contributes to a slight increase in the hotel occupancy rate.” Which has been suffering from a crisis since October 7.”

He stressed that “the situation is very difficult, there are no foreign tourists in the country and the region is boiling, and we are at the mouth of a volcano and in a state of anticipation for what the situation will lead to, and it is natural that there will not be any foreign tourists.”

He pointed out that “Middle East Airlines has increased the number of its flights from Riyadh to Beirut due to the holidays and the arrival of large numbers of Lebanese from Saudi Arabia, and therefore this matter only stimulates the aviation sector.”

He stressed that “the only tourism sector operating in Lebanon currently is the restaurant sector without a competitor, and it depends not only on expatriates but also on residents, while hotels and tourism companies are the biggest losers.”