Abboud Urges Tourists to Visit Lebanon as Sector Suffers over Political Crisis

Caretaker Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud has urged Arab and western tourists to visit Lebanon after the tourism sector was directly affected by the political crisis which led several countries to raise concerns over stability in Beirut.

Calls by some countries on their citizens “to refrain from visiting Lebanon during this period are surprising, particularly since this request came after protests ended and security was restored,” Abboud said in a statement on Thursday.

“We call on all free people to visit Lebanon and stress their support for it,” he added.

On Friday, As Safir daily reported that the tourism sector was badly affected by the political deadlock. The rate of reservations at hotels dropped to 15-20 percent from 50 percent the same time last year, it said.