Lebanon’s tourism revenues stand at USD 6.85 billion in 2015

Lebanon ranked third in the Middle East region in terms of revenues from international tourism with profits reaching nearly USD 6.85 billion last year. According to a report by the United Nations World Tourism Organization, Lebanon followed the United Arab Emirates with a total US 16 billion and Saudi Arabia at USD 10 billion. The report also indicated that, globally, the tourism sector was affected by threats of terrorism, particularly after the bloody attacks in Egypt, France, Lebanon and Tunisia, and in other countries. On the other hand, the same report pointed out that world tourism industry has witnessed a remarkable growth in the past few years, one of the highest compared to the other sectors of world economy, adding that the US ranked first in terms of tourism revenues during 2015 (USD 204.5 billion in total). In conclusion, the World Tourism Organization report indicated that global tourism was stimulated last year by a number of positive factors, primarily, the decline in oil prices, which in turn reduced the costs of transportation and flights, in addition to the weakening value of the Euro which boosted travel to Europe. (An Nahar, Al Diyar, August 13, 2016)