Tourism Sector Improves in May Due to Stable Security Scene

The stable Lebanese security scene in 2015 has played in favor of the tourism sector despite the ongoing political deadlock. According to the Ministry of Tourism, the number of tourist arrivals rose by a yearly 18% to 524,334 by May. The number of visitors from Arab countries, representing 34% of the total, increased by a yearly 19% to 179,096. The boost in the number of Arab incomers came about as the number of Iraqi tourists rose by 17% year-on-year (y-o-y) to 67,738, and the number of Egyptian tourists increased by 13% to 29,617 and as the number of Jordanian tourists grew by 7% y-o-y to 28,802. The number of Saudi tourists also rose by 52% to reach 19,367 by May. Although an upturn in the number of Saudi tourists, which are heavy spenders, is a positive sign, it should be noted that this number is still far from the high of 58,666 registered in May 2010, before the eruption of the Arab Spring. As for European tourists, constituting a share of 32% in the total, they grew by 15% y-o-y to 169,246 by May. This was mainly the result of the 16% yearly upturn in the number of French tourists to 45,272, the 13% yearly upturn in the number of German visitors to 22,173 and the 12% yearly growth in the number of U.K tourists to 19,241.Tourists from America, representing a combined share of 15% in the total, also posted a double digit growth of 17% to 80,740 by May. The number of tourists from the United States advanced by yearly 18% to 40,864 while the number of Canadian tourists grew by a yearly 20% to 28,365. In May alone, figures also point to an improvement in the number of tourist arrivals which increased by a yearly 13% to 125,375. In May, the number of Arab incomers grew by 3% to 39,910, the number of European tourists advanced by 15% y-o-y to 39,406 and the number of tourists from America rose by a 16% y-o-y to 22,811.

Cumulative Number of Tourists by May

 

 

 

Tourism Sector Improves in May Due to Stable Security SceneSource: Ministry of Tourism

 

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