Syria Registers an Uptick in Number of Tourists

A seller waits for tourists in the historic market of Damascus, Syria, in April 2011 (Getty Images)
A seller waits for tourists in the historic market of Damascus, Syria, in April 2011 (Getty Images)
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Syria Registers an Uptick in Number of Tourists

A seller waits for tourists in the historic market of Damascus, Syria, in April 2011 (Getty Images)
A seller waits for tourists in the historic market of Damascus, Syria, in April 2011 (Getty Images)

The owner of an oriental shop in the old city of Damascus was asked if European tourists had returned to the historic streets of the Syrian capital.

“I couldn't believe what I saw... Two tourists coming from China to Damascus looked like they came straight out of a folk-art magazine. Everyone who saw them in the Hamidiyah market wanted to take a picture with them,” the owner, who requested anonymity, told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The owner also confirmed the arrival of European tourists but noted that the numbers are still very low.

While mentioning that the two Chinese tourists walking around in traditional wear turned into a spectacle in the market, the owner said: “For the past 10 years, we haven't seen European tour groups like those that used to come to Syria before the war.”

“The majority of those who arrived last year wander about to observe the lifestyle in Damascus and engage with locals, rather than visiting historical sites or purchasing traditional products,” explained the owner.

The proprietor of the oriental emporium expressed delight at the arrival of a European tour group, comprising over 20 tourists who scanned the wares.

However, they only purchased a single postcard, perhaps as a memento.

Even though the store is in a tourist district that draws visitors to sacred sites, there is no buying activity, reported the owner.

Syrian Minister of Tourism Rami Martini announced in media statements on Wednesday an uptick in visitor numbers, with 385,000 arrivals in the first quarter of 2023.

Of these, 345,000 are from Arab countries, while 40,000 are foreigners.

Notably, during the same period in 2022, there were 236,000 arrivals, consisting of 206,000 from Arab countries and 30,000 from foreign nations.

Martini did not disclose the nationalities of the foreign tourists, but local sources indicated that most of them are from allied nations such as Russia, Iran, and China, as well as expatriate Syrians who hold foreign passports.



Hezbollah Says Fired Missiles at Base Near South Israel's Ashdod

Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system operates to intercept incoming projectiles, amid hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in Nahariya, Israel, November 21, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system operates to intercept incoming projectiles, amid hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in Nahariya, Israel, November 21, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
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Hezbollah Says Fired Missiles at Base Near South Israel's Ashdod

Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system operates to intercept incoming projectiles, amid hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in Nahariya, Israel, November 21, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system operates to intercept incoming projectiles, amid hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in Nahariya, Israel, November 21, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

Hezbollah said its fighters on Thursday fired missiles at a military base near south Israel’s Ashdod, the first time it has targeted so deep inside Israel in more than a year of hostilities.

Hezbollah fighters "targeted... for the first time, the Hatzor air base" east of the southern city, around 150 kilometers from Lebanon’s southern border with Israel, "with a missile salvo," the Iran-backed group said in a statement.

A rocket fired from Lebanon killed a man and wounded two others in northern Israel on Thursday, according to the Magen David Adom rescue service.
The service said paramedics found the body of the man in his 30s near a playground in the town of Nahariya, near the border with Lebanon, after a rocket attack on Thursday.
Israel meanwhile struck targets in southern Lebanon and several buildings south of Beirut, the Lebanese capital.

Israel has launched airstrikes against Lebanon after Hezbollah began firing rockets, drones and missiles into Israel the day after Hamas' attack on Israel last October. A full-blown war erupted in September after nearly a year of lower-level conflict.
More than 3,500 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to the country’s Health Ministry, and over 1 million people have been displaced. It is not known how many of those killed were Hezbollah fighters and how many were civilians.
On the Israeli side, Hezbollah’s aerial attacks have killed more than 70 people and driven some 60,000 from their homes.