Lebanon’s hopes of boosting its economy with tourism revenue have been thwarted, after an Israeli airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs and threat of all-out war triggered a series of travel bans and sent holidaymakers packing, Bloomberg reported Thursday.
Summer-season income from visitors — mostly from among Lebanon’s large diaspora — had been expected to surpass the $5 billion to $7 billion pumped in last year, according to Minister of Economy and Trade Amin Salam. But, he said in an interview, that all changed after the strike late last month, which has raised fears of a wider conflict on Lebanese soil between Israel and Hezbollah.
The rocket attack in Beirut’s southern suburbs killed Fouad Shukr, a senior commander of Hezbollah, which has been trading fire with Israel since the Israel-Hamas war began in October.
The conflict has already cost Lebanon more than $10 billion, Salam said, basing his estimate on lost revenue and damage to infrastructure.
“We had dreamed” the growth in spending by tourists and returning Lebanese would continue, he said in his Beirut office. But “everyone who had booked canceled, and everyone who was here left. That sector froze. Hotels and stores are empty.”
Governments issued travel warnings around the time of Israel’s strike and airlines suspended flights. Tourist spending in Lebanon was a significant boost to a economy that’s been in meltdown over the past five years because of a banking and debt crisis.
“This money is what kept the country alive,” Salam said.
