During a press conference on Thursday, Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud said that the number people that visited Lebanon in 2010 are more than 17 percent over 2009.

“694, 662 people visited Lebanon in 2010, which [amounts to a] 17.79 percent [increase] from last year and a 72.29 percent [increase] from the same months in 2008,” Abboud said.

He also said that he expects the number of visitors to Lebanon in 2010 to reach two million by the end of the year.