New US funded rural tourism project launched in Barouk

A new rural tourism project was launched last August 31 in the Barouk-Fraidis Chuf area, with financial help from USAID-funded Building Alliance for Local Advancement, Development and Investment, (BALADI program). The BALADI program has financially contributed to the project which was implemented by Rene Mouwad Foundation, in partnership with the municipality of Barouk-Fraidis and the Chuf Biosphere Reserve, some US$171 thousand to assist the municipality and the local community in the construction of 19 kilometers of long hiking trails traversing 13 historic sites, the rehabilitation and equipping of Rashid Nakhle Cultural Center and the cultural and touristic information center, as wee as the organisation of the area’s first annual festival.

During the opening ceremony, USAID director in Lebanon, Caroline Bryan, underlined the vitality of rural tourism in promoting and activating the tourism sector in the country. For his part, Tourism Minister, Michel Pharaon, expressed his hope that such undertakings will support his endeavor to develop the rural tourism plan, and commended all municipalities and private institutions for cooperating with the ministry to make the present festival season across Lebanon a success. )An Nahar, September 11, 2015(