The outbreak of war between Iran and Israel has upended weeks of preparation aimed at delivering Lebanon’s most promising tourism season in years.
Amid the chaos affecting civil aviation across the region and the mass cancellation of flights to Beirut by most foreign carriers, uncertainty about the conflict’s duration and potential expansion to neighboring countries has led thousands of tourists to cancel their summer plans in Lebanon. The few remaining bookings are largely limited to Lebanese expatriates still holding out hope for an improvement in the situation in the coming weeks.
Official Lebanese sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that several Arab countries have evacuated the majority of their citizens from Lebanon over the past two days and continue to operate outbound flights for those who remain. The sources noted that the United States and European nations have yet to formally urge their citizens to leave the country.
Lebanon had been anticipating a lift of Gulf Cooperation Council travel restrictions, particularly after the United Arab Emirates unilaterally authorized travel to Lebanon last May. The Lebanese government had undertaken major logistical and security measures in recent weeks to create favorable conditions for the return of Arab and Gulf tourists to Beirut.
Jean Abboud, head of the Syndicate of Travel and Tourism Agencies in Lebanon, reported a surge in cancellations of airline tickets, hotel reservations, and car rentals. He said inbound travel to Lebanon had dropped by more than 60 percent, with around 50 airlines suspending flights to Beirut, leaving just four still operating.
Abboud told Asharq Al-Awsat that the longer the conflict persists, the more the tourism season is at risk. “What’s happening has paralyzed tourism both into and out of Lebanon,” he said. “At this point, I don’t believe we’ll see Arab or Gulf tourists this season. It will be limited to Lebanese expatriates.”
One of the key factors behind the wave of cancellations, Abboud added, is fear among foreign tourists that the conflict could escalate further and potentially trap them in Lebanon, preventing their return home.
Since the conflict began, Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport has been operating under an emergency schedule to manage the fallout from flight cancellations by numerous Arab and international carriers. The number of arrivals to the Lebanese capital has plunged by about 75 percent compared to the period prior to the outbreak of hostilities late Thursday night.
Tourism has long served as a cornerstone of the Lebanese economy, contributing over $8 billion annually before 2011 and accounting for nearly 20 percent of the country’s GDP.
However, the sector was severely hit by the outbreak of the Syrian war, which cut off land routes from the Gulf and sharply reduced the number of Gulf tourists.
A series of suicide bombings in 2014, followed by the country’s financial and economic collapse in 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, further devastated the industry, leading to widespread closures of hotels and restaurants and a near-total halt to air travel.
