According to the Ministry of Tourism, tourism sector saw an improvement during 2014, where the number of tourists grew 6.30% annually, to 1,354,647, after it reached its minimum in 2013 with 1,274,362 incomers.
Arab visitors, representing 34% of the total, increased 14.61% to 460,822. This increase is largely influenced by the 33.22% surge in the number of Iraqi incomers to 189,156, most of whom are taking Lebanon as a refuge from the security threats in their country. Concomitantly, 8.81% more Egyptians visited Lebanon in 2013 compared to 2013, with their number reaching 69,179. However, Jordanian tourists dropped 5.38% to 73,822, and were the only Arab incomers to experience a yearly decrease.
European tourists came in second, accounting for 33% of the total, and recording a 3.15% yearly rise to 447,668. This is mainly due to the 2.57% and 11.23% edge up of the French and German visitors to 120,710 and 67,988, respectively. In contrast, the Turks displayed a 32.34% decline to 16,126, partly due to the increased security and political tensions at the Turkish-Syrian borders.
Moreover, American incomers inched up 7.18% during 2014, to 224,621.
In December alone, tourism progressed 19.34% to 132,942, mainly due to the more stable security situation during the festive season compared to 2013. Arab travelers surged 47.69% to 51,218.