According to the Ministry of Tourism, the number of tourist arrivals rose by a yearly 10.23% to 1.30M by September. This rise was partly due to the occurrence of most of the religious holidays during the first 3 quarters of the year and the relatively stable security situtation.
In details, European tourists, grasping a share of 33% in total, grew 10.33% y-o-y to 435,857 by September. French tourists saw their number rise by an annual 6.44% to 112,682, and visitors from Germany and Sweden also rose in number by 15.69% and 16.31% to 69,275 and 28,126, respectively, by September 2016.
Moreover, the number of visitors from Arab countries, representing 30% of the total, increased by a yearly 6.92% to 385,637. Mostly, incomers from Arab countries with political instability seek Lebanon for employment or refuge and not tourism. This has boosted the number of Iraqi visitors by an annual 25.87% to 181,729, and the number of Egyptians by an annual 10.41% to 63,633 by September 2016.
However, given the warnings of GCC governments about visiting Lebanon, the number of incomers from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE registered annual drops of 27.65%, 29.5% and 74.24% to reach 27,840, 18,687, and 1,717, by September 2016, respectively.
American tourists, also increased by an annual 11.93% to 239,109 by September 2016. This rise was mainly due to the growth in the number of visitors from the US and Canada which rose to 124,605 and 80,732 by September 2016, respectively.
As for the month of September alone, total number of tourist arrivals significantly increased by 20.99% y-o-y to stand at 164,605. In details, the Adha holidays that occurred in September boosted the number of Arab tourists, which grew by 14.65% to reach 58,631. The Iraqis grasped almost 50% of total Arab tourists, followed by the Egyptians, with 18%, and Jordanians with 16%.
Cumulative Number of Tourists by September (in Millions)
Source: Ministry of Tourism