Lebanon prepares for return of Gulf tourists

Lebanon is preparing for the return of Gulf tourists this summer, with Gulf and Lebanese leaders heralding normalised relations and the world's largest passenger jet -- operated by the UAE -- making a symbolic stop in Beirut.

The return of Gulf visitors to Lebanon after a five-year pause for political and security reasons "will contribute to boosting tourism in our country and strengthening its economy", Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri said on March 31st.

During the 2018 Arab Summit, held mid-April in Dhahran, Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud informed Lebanese President Michel Aoun that work was under way to enable the return of Gulf tourists to Lebanon in the summer.

The announcement prompted a number of traditional summer towns to prepare for the arrival of Gulf visitors, including the mountain town of Bhamdoun, which has been welcoming Gulf tourists for more than six decades.

"Shops hastened to open their doors and residents began getting their summer rental homes ready," Bhamdoun mayor Osta Abu Rjeili told Al-Mashareq.

"There have been positive signs for the period following the month of Ramadan as a number of Kuwaiti and Emirati friends informed us of their imminent arrival now that the ban on travel to Lebanon has been lifted," he said.

Meanwhile, the municipality "is completing what is left of the maintenance work required on the main tourist street, public parks and generators", Abu Rjeili said.

The Ministry of Public Works also has completed a large portion of the rehabilitation work on roads and the newly built tunnel, he added.

Signs of tourism revival

All signs indicate that Gulf tourists "will be returning to Lebanon this summer", Tourism Minister Avedis Guidanian told Al-Mashareq.

During the Arabian Travel Market Trade Show in Dubai in May, Arab Tourism Organisation president Bandar bin Fahd al-Fehaid promised "that what was agreed upon by the Lebanese president and Saudi monarch regarding the return of Saudi and Gulf tourists would be translated into action", he said.

"We expect these promises to be translated into action after Ramadan, and look forward to seeing what the hotel bookings and airport arrival figures are going to be like," he added.

"Co-ordination is under way with several Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, with the aim of getting their citizens to return to their second country this summer," Guidanian said.

Music festivals featuring major Lebanese and international artists "will be an additional factor encouraging them to come," he said, noting that 48,856 visitors from Arab countries entered Lebanon in April, including 4,144 Saudis.

The lifting of the travel ban "portends a good season compared to previous years", said Association of Travel and Tourist Agents president Jean Abboud.

"We expect heavy bookings by Gulf tourists for the period following Eid," he told Al-Mashareq.

Abboud said the UAE’s decision to land the largest aircraft in the world -- an Airbus A380, operated by Emirates -- in Lebanon in late March "confirms the expected return of Gulf tourists".

A number of Gulf airline companies that already run three flights a day to Lebanon "are moving to increase the number of daily flights in the summer", he said.