Kuwait joins 3 Gulf states in issuing Lebanon travel warning

The Gulf state of Kuwait on Monday urged its citizens to avoid travel to Lebanon and also asked those already present there to leave after deadly clashes linked to the Syrian conflict left two people killed in Beirut.

The foreign ministry called on Kuwaitis to cancel travel plans to Lebanon (more…)

UAE, Qatar travel advisory upsets Lebanon, update

UAE and Qatar’s foreign ministries issued a travel advisory in which they restricted travel to Lebanon and urged their nationals in the country to leave because of the unstable security situation.

“The UAE is keen to preserve the safety of its nationals and expats (more…)

Syria complains to UN about tourism downturn

Syria has complained to the United Nations that its tourism industry has been severely damaged by a 14-month conflict between government forces and rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, which has raised fears of civil war. (more…)

Lebanon’s Salameh : We are not worried about a bubble

Lebanese Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh discusses the exposure of the country’s banks to government debt as well as the latest efforts to insulate the lenders from a crisis in neighboring Syria.

He spoke in an interview today at his office in Beirut.

On economic growth:

“The indicators are showing that the real growth could be between 3 percent and 3.5 percent, which is in line (more…)

Tourism Minister: Lebanon is among the safest Mid-East countries

Lebanese Tourism Minister Fady Abboud participated in the international tourism exhibition of Berlin (ITB) to spread the message that Lebanon is not at war. “We want to spread the message that Lebanon today is probably one of the safest country for tourists in the Middle East and we have a unique mix of tourism offerings from skiing in the mountains to water skiing in the Mediterranean, to offer them,” adds Abboud. (more…)

Saudi owns 40% of total Arab investments in Lebanon

The volume of Saudi investments in Lebanon amounted to $6 billion (SR22.50 billion), which accounts for nearly 40 percent of total Arab investments in that country, Saudi Ambassador to Beirut Ali Asiri said. He said some 111,701 Saudi tourists visited Lebanon in 2011, who accounted for 19 percent and 6.7 percent of Arab and overall tourists respectively. (more…)

Seven natural wonders of the world to be unveiled at 19:07 GMT, update

Polls for the world’s new seven wonders of nature closed at 11:11 GMT, with preliminary results to be announced at 19:07 GMT.

Swiss foundation New 7 Wonders of Nature organized a world-wide poll in which anyone in the world could vote via telephone, text messages or Internet social networks for their favorite sites (more…)

Lebanon a safe, stimulating vacation destination

I understood my friends’ panicked concern over my decision to explore Lebanon as Arab Spring somersaulted across the Middle East.

Passenger traffic to Lebanon drops more than 50%

Passenger traffic to Lebanon’s Rafik Hariri International Airport declined in excess of 50 percent in the first week of August compared to the same period last month, with the holy month of Ramadan and unrest in Syria playing a key role in the fall.

Air passenger traffic fell in the first week of August from a daily average of 15,000 to 7,000 which is in excess of 50 percent less than traffic recorded for the same period in the month of July.

On the other hand more people are departing. The daily average of passengers departing from Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut was at 10,600 in the first week of August compared 7,000 to 8,000 passengers in July. (more…)

Lebanon needs more tourists

According to a report by Al Mustaqbal Newspaper the number of tourists has dropped dramatically since a year ago. The total number of tourists in June was 177, 915 which represents 23.05 % drop from June 2010 when the total number was 231, 212 . (more…)