Agents fear cancellation of Lebanon travel plans

Following Saturday’s Lebanon travel warning issued by the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain owing to political clashes, travel agents in the UAE are anticipating a drop in tourist demand for Lebanon this summer. “The current situation could impact the summer bookings for Lebanon from the UAE,” Manju Manchanda, Manager for Akbar Holidays, told Gulf News. The three Gulf countries have advised their citizens to avoid travelling to Lebanon where clashes linked to the conflict in neighbouring Syria left several people dead, a move expected to hurt Lebanese tourism industry. While travel agents haven’t yet received any cancellations for the scheduled Lebanon trips from UAE tourists, they fear so in the coming days. As Hemant Baheti, Manager, Kanoo Holidays Division, said: “We have not experienced any cancellations for Lebanon as yet. But while there is no panic reaction at this moment, if the travel warning continues in the following weeks, we may experience cancellations for the scheduled Lebanon trips.”He added that the travel agency, is however, advising potential Lebanon tourists to make “alternative plans to destinations such as Turkey and Kuala Lumpur”. “At this point, people are being cautious about travelling to Lebanon. We are getting inquiries about Lebanon travel from the UAE nationals as well as expatriates residing in the country. From our side, we are highlighting the current situation in Lebanon and advising them to make alternative plans as we don’t want our customers to suffer,” Baheti told Gulf News. Echoing Baheti’s views is Ghassan Aridi, CEO of Alpha Tours. “It is the beginning of the summer travel season. If the risk continues, the summer bookings to Lebanon this year will drop, but I hope not,” he said. According to a Q4, 2011 report released by Lebanon’s Bank Audi sal-Audi Saradar Group, the aggregate number of tourists to Lebanon fell by 23.7 per cent to reach 1.6 million in 2011 versus 2.1m in 2010 owing to political unrest, noting that this decrease was the first seen since 2006. It added that the majority – 35.1 per cent – of tourists to Lebanon last year hailed from Arab countries. Meanwhile, Lebanon’s tourism minister, Fady Abboud, had recently said the number of tourists at the end of 2012 is expected to exceed three million. And the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) estimates that Lebanon’s tourism industry will contribute $4.3 billion to the country’s economy in 2012, equivalent to around 10 per cent of GDP (gross domestic product). “It [the travel warning] is not in favour of Lebanon tourism,” said Aridi of Alpha Tours, adding that approximately more than 75,000 tourists on an average from the UAE visit Lebanon every year. Arab tourists also were the majority spenders in Lebanon last year, as per the report, with aggregate spending of nationals from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Syria and Egypt accounting for “55 per cent” of total tourist spending in Lebanon in 2011. “The local and political tensions and the widespread regional political disturbances left their imprints on the performance of the trade and services sector in 2011,” the report stated.