Party time? Tourism in Lebanon in the summer of 2024

Music festivals are being cancelled in this country of contrasts, as the chance of full-blown war with Israel in the southern borderlands increases

AFP

Byblos International Festival, in Byblos, July 19, 2024

Party time? Tourism in Lebanon in the summer of 2024

Salwa Baalbaki

last update on 31 Jul 2024

Expatriates heading home for the summer are keeping flights into Lebanon full, along with some tourists from the Arab world and Asia.

The busy skies have defied the psychological warfare waged by Israeli media and some Western outlets over the secondary conflict – or war of distraction – underway around the southern border in the Land of the Cedars.

Threats of escalating conflict from Israeli politicians and military leaders have not succeeded in deterring people in Lebanon’s diaspora from visiting home. The south of the country, along the border with Israel, is volatile, and there are worries that full-scale war could replace the long-running skirmishes and missile fire there.

Nonetheless, people are coming back to the home country for the day trips and reunions that remain a traditional part of summer life.

But hotels are doing less well. Occupancy rates are down and capacity is being cut. Now, music festivals are being cancelled, with the booking of major artists getting harder, and deeper security worries over gathering large crowds in one place.

The tourist traffic that remains largely comes from areas where security concerns are not a deterrent.

This summer, Lebanon is once again a land of contradictions. As the ex-pats arrive as usual to celebrate the season and reunite with friends and family, while all around them, the country’s problems continue and not just in the borderlands. Every day, Lebanon is sinking deeper into political chaos and economic and social turbulence.

Basic public services are deteriorating, to the point of shortages. There are chronic malfunctions in electricity supply, and problems with telephone and internet provision. Drinking water can be scarce.

There are problems with roads, from the spread of unrepaired potholes to bridges in need of significant maintenance. These are problems that the ex-pats, and most tourists, are unlikely to face in their regular homes.

Nonetheless, the visitors are taking their chances for a summer stay. According to statistics from Rafic Hariri International Airport, the total number of arrivals since the beginning of 2024 until the end of June was 1,545,666, compared to 1,452,996 departures.

As every year, Lebanese expatriates coming from Gulf, other Arab, and African countries constitute the largest percentage of arrivals – between 60% and 70% – while Arab tourists account for about 25%, mostly Syrians and Iraqis, in addition to a smaller percentage of Jordanians and Egyptians.

Foreign tourists, mostly from Europe, account for no more than 5% of the traffic

Foreign tourists, mostly from Europe, account for no more than 5% of the traffic.

Daily arrival rates are the same as last year, at around 12,000 passengers. There is a total of between 85 and 90 flights each day, made up of both inbound and outbound planes. They are between 90% 100% full.

These figures, at least, have stoked measured optimism in the industry. The Association of Travel and Tourism Agents (ATTA) expects daily arrivals to peak at around 15,000, without a worsening security situation. And any breakthrough in improving conditions in the south could open the way for an improvement from the summer of 2023.

Full flights

Demand has not grown, but neither have there been a wave of cancellations of inbound flights, according to ATTA. Outbound bookings, especially to onward-transit points, such as Dubai and Istanbul, have increased.

Middle East Airlines, Lebanon's national carrier, has not cut its flight schedule. Six flights a day have been added to schedules in July and August, mostly from Germany, Denmark, Italy, Spain, Greece, and Cyprus, with added weekly flights to Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.

The increased conflict in the south has followed a difficult run for tourism in Lebanon, after the country's economic and financial crisis crippled the private sector.

Shutterstock — Lebanon has all the ingredients for tourism but a hostile southern border is giving holidaymakers food for thought

Most hotels are at half capacity, with entire wings closed to cut costs.

Typical occupancy rates in Beirut were running a between 50% and 90% in recent years. They are now at between 20% and 40% at best. Outside the city, occupancy is limited to weekend stays. Even then, it does not exceed 10%.

Checking out

Hotel revenues are down over 50% year-on-year, according to figures shared with Al Majalla by Lebanon's Hotel Owners Association (HOA).

Booking rates have also suffered after the rise in popularity of online accommodation platform Airbnb. The head of the HOA, Pierre Achkar, has pointed called the competition unfair, and called for the website to pay fees and taxes to the state, in line with regular tourism businesses.

The wider temporary accommodation sector is also feeling the impact of this new form of competition. Furnished apartments have long been hired by returning ex-pats, visiting Arab families and even foreign tourists. The properties on offer via traditional booking sources would often run between 80% and 100%.

REUTERS — Batroun Beach in Lebanon on July 21, 2024

This year's figure is under 20%. Much of the slump is also down to Airbnb. According to Lebanon's Furnished Apartments' Association, it has become impossible to compete, with lets made over the website paying only a fraction of the fees levied on the established industry.

Operators of furnished apartments have also cut capacity, with some running at 50%. Some are seriously considering boycotting the payment of municipal fees and electricity and water bills.

Beach resorts and swimming pool attractions are also down, with activity lower by between 40% and 50% from last year. Restaurant revenues are down 30%.

As one gets closer to the south, the situation becomes more miserable. The parks and restaurants in Jezzine, Sidon, and Tyre have been greatly affected by the war

Slowdown in the south

Tony Al-Rami, head of the Association of Restaurants, Nightclubs, Cafes, and Pastry Shops in Lebanon, said: "As one gets closer to the south, the situation becomes more miserable. The parks and restaurants in Jezzine, Sidon, and Tyre have been greatly affected by the war."

He added that since 7 October and the war on Gaza, some tourist businesses only opened for eight days during the Christmas and New Year holidays.

The declines come as another blow for a resilient sector, which even managed to re-open after the 2020 Beirut Port explosion without public funds or major insurance payouts, Al-Rami pointed out.

AFP — Byblos International Festival, in Byblos, July 19, 2024

He said visitors from the US and Brazil "didn't come to Lebanon due to the distance" as well as the unease over conflict, "while Lebanese expatriates from Arab countries, who have their homes here, came as usual".

Al-Rami also accepts that "the near-absence of European, Egyptian, Jordanian, and Gulf tourists has weakened the summer season." He describes the overall tourism cycle as "miserable," with car rental offices, hotels, guest houses, and even tour guides all experiencing a decline in activity linked to the downturn in restaurants.

Foregoing festivals

Lebanon's music festivals are some of the season's major attractions, but the prospect of worsening conflict has made it difficult to bring in big-name artists and bands amid worries about the security of large crowds.

It has led to a series of cancellations, including the Beiteddine, Tyre, Jezzine, and Zahle festivals. All such cultural events in the Southern Lebanon and Bekaa governorates have ceased, as they have in parts of Beirut.

The Baalbek International Festival Committee announced the cancellation of its artistic projects and concerts at the historic Baalbek Ruins, limiting its activities to two concerts held in downtown Beirut.

In this land of contrasts, attendances were large, showing the Lebanese people's desire to challenge the war and its repercussions, and to express their longing for peace, security, and the stolen moments of joy that have eluded them for decades.

+ / -