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Vatican places Lebanon on global tourism map
4-9-2018
In its issue of today, Al Akhbar newspaper drew attention to the Vatican Initiative aimed to restore Lebanon as a main destination for global religious tourism, pointing to the careless attitude of the Lebanese government towards this type of tourism. To note, the Lebanese Charge d’Affaires to the Vatican, Ambassador Khalil Karam, has notified official circles of the Vatican’s decision to place Lebanon back on the list of pilgrimage destinations issued annually by the Holy See, beginning 2019, after 12 years of absence. The list, to recall, is used as a reference by thousands of pilgrims around the world. On the subject, the head of the Catholic Information Center, Father Abdo Abu Kassem, explained that the Vatican’s new initiative maintains that Lebanon is a safe country, and therefore tourists can be reassured to visit. “Should we exclude religious tourism, what remains of this sector?” Abu Kassem said, pointing to the archeological sites and ruins that suffer from neglect as well as from poor maintenance and infrastructure. In turn, George Arab, the director of the Comprehensive Cultural Survey for the Heritage of the Holy Valley of Qanubin, pointed out that the major part of what is being achieved in the field of religious (mainly Christian) tourism in the country is the outcome of efforts by the Church, as the government is completely negligent. Also, university professor in religious tourism and anthropology, Dr. Nour Farra Haddad, noted sarcastically that in February, the foreign and tourism ministers Jibran Bassil and Avidis Guidanian, have announced the year 2018 as the year for religious tourism, but this never went anywhere. Haddad said that this past June she launched the Holy Lebanon website, the first electronic portal for religious tourism in Lebanon. She revealed that the tourism ministry during the term of minister Michel Pharaon has asked her to work on the project, but has not provided any technical or financial support to this effect, not even the current ministry. (Al Akhbar, September 4, 2018)
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