Lebanon’s tourism industry showing improvement
Lebanon’s tourism industry is showing early signs of improvement in 2015, and with Colliers International forecasting a hotel occupancy figure of up to 49% for Beirut hotels, the country will be promoting its tourism message at this year’s Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2015.
Tourist arrivals increased for the ninth month in a row in February 2015, up year-on-year by 20.5% (175, 859 visitors) in the first two months of the year. Visitors from the Gulf countries registered a strong increase with double-digit growth from Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE as well as Egypt and Iran.
According to a report from Bank Audi Research Center, this is supported by a rise in passenger traffic at Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport, which grew by 10.24% year-on-year in the first two months of 2015, recording 419,369 passenger movements, a record high for the period. The Colliers forecast predicts a RevPAR for Beirut’s three, four and five-star hotel market of US$78 this year, up 1% from 2014, and ADR of US$158.
A March 2015 SGBL Eco News Report also quotes figures from the Institute of International Finance (IIF), which is similarly forecasting a healthy – and much-needed increase – in tourism receipts, which are set to rise by 7.9% to reach US$6.4 billion this year, with a further possible increase of up to 12% in 2016, to touch US$7.2 billion.
According to the World Travel and Tourism Council’s Lebanon 2014 report, the direct contribution of travel and tourism to GDP was US$3.2 billion (6.9% of total GDP) in 2013. Travel and tourism is also estimated to indirectly contribute US$9 billion (19.2%) of GDP in 2013.In 2015, these figures are forecast to rise by 2.1% and 2.2%, respectively with the sector also generating 92,500 jobs in 2013; with forecasted growth of 2.7% in 2014.
Lebanese companies exhibiting at this year’s ATM include SAAD Transport SAL, World Net Hotels, Rida International and Warwick MENA Hotel Management Company.
-arabiantravelmarket.com
