According to Global Blue’s Jan to Dec 2019 “Globe Shopper Spending” report for Lebanon, total tourist spending declined yearly by 1.75% and the number of total refund transactions yearly dropped by 5.83%. In 2019, the biggest bulk of spending (13%) took place during the month of January and August. 11% of spending took place in September while 10% was carried out in July.
Worth mentioning that during October, November and December total tourist spending witnessed a significant drop by 35.78%, 59.69% and 26.17% respectively on a monthly basis.
In 2019, 82% of shoppers’ spending took place in Beirut while 12% and 3% took place in the Metn and Baabda regions. Tourist spending in Beirut contracted by 0.13% YOY while that in Metn and in Baabda narrowed by 7.45% and 9.23%, respectively.
In 2019, the composition of spenders in Lebanon remained the same with “other countries” occupying first place with 33% of total spending followed by 14% for the Saudi Arabian tourists, 9% for UAE tourists, 8% for Kuwaiti and Syrian tourists.
On a yearly basis, the spending of Saudi Arabian tourists increased yearly by 21.21%, while the spending of Kuwaiti and Qatari shoppers rose by 6.41% and 19.21%, respectively. However, the spending of shoppers from Syria and the UAE slid by 14.25% and 2.86%, respectively.
In 2019, 64% of shoppers’ spending was concentrated on Fashion & Clothing while 21% were spent on Watches & Jewelry. In details, Fashion & Clothing spending declined by 5.41% YOY while Watches & Jewelry spending witnessed a rise of 15.69%.