| Kippreport.com

Lebanon expects record tourism this summer

July 7, 2009 1:17 by Dana El Baltaji

In spite of the global economic downturn and the nation’s political instability, Lebanon hopes to attract millions of tourists this summer, reports the AFP. “We expect two million Arabs — not including Syrians — and other nationalities by the end of 2009,” tourism ministry director Nada Sardouk told the AFP. “This will be a record in the history of Lebanon.”

Pierre Achkar, head of Lebanon’s hotel owners syndicate, agreed, adding that the nation has bucked the global trend: “The rate of hotel occupancy in Beirut has already reached 85 percent,” he said.

Tags: 2009, Lebanon, tourism