Mountain trail revives rural areas and generate local income

The Lebanon Mountain Trail Association kicked off its seventh consecutive annual trek-walk during a special event held in Andeqt under the patronage of Tourism Minister Michel Faroun. The event was organized in cooperation with Andeqt municipality and was attended by MPs Hadi Hobeysh, Nidal Tohme and a number of public figures and activists in the field. Speaking at the launching, Faroun pointed out that trekking is not just an environmental action, but it also helps promote a responsible economic and tourism momentum that will boost the development of the targeted region. “Eco-tourism can be developed so as to constitute 20% of the tourism sector and can play a key role in reviving rural areas while creating new jobs,” he explained. The long journey which involves 170 hikers from 13 different countries will start from the village of Andeqt in the North, moving to Qobayyat where the trekking group will spend the night before heading the next day to the town of Tashih while passing through many villages on the way to Hasbaya-Marje3yoon in the South. The trekkers will hike the entire 470 km-distance through the month of April while spending a total of 800 night units at 40 guesthouses and pumping some USD 50 thousand into the local communities. (Al Diyar, An Nahar, 7 April 2015)