Lebanese Tourism Union Urges to Keep Festivals Free from Political Divisions

The Lebanese Union of Tourism Syndicates issued a statement expressing concern over certain attitudes that attempt to transform tourism and cultural events, as well as festivals of joy, into arenas for political division and spreading hate speech among Lebanese citizens.

The statement emphasized that whenever a tourism festival is launched or a path for activity and celebration opens anywhere in Lebanon, it represents a victory for the entire country. It signals that Lebanon remains capable of recovery and that the will to live surpasses aggression, bringing Lebanese people together around joy, work, and productivity despite the challenges and attempts by Israeli forces to break hope and sow discord.

The union addressed those involved in tourism and celebrations, urging them to let the Lebanese enjoy their festivities in their own authentic way. It warned against mixing joy, nature, environment, outings, and tourism with rhetoric of dependency, allegiance, and incitement, and against dragging such occasions into the fires of hatred, which those parties have never managed to ignite well.

It clarified that Lebanon does not have towns that shine while others suffer. Every town that lights up through its festivals or initiatives illuminates all of Lebanon. Similarly, when any town faces aggression from the Israeli occupation, all other towns rally in support and solidarity. This reflects the Lebanese commitment to one Lebanon and one life together, as proven through various national experiences.

The statement also rejected discourse that attempts to divide Lebanese people into winners and losers or between towns deserving life and those that have paid the price defending the country. It described such rhetoric as having no path to national unity and no place in the Lebanese conscience. It added that anyone who believes they can cross this line with such speech is in fact a conduit for external forces and expresses their own defeat in the face of steadfastness and resistance, which have elevated sacrifices to the highest meaning of defending the homeland, preserving dignity, and protecting its people.

Concluding, the union affirmed that the will to live celebrated today has never been opposed to resistance but rather is a result of the Lebanese people's steadfastness and attachment to their land and right to a free and dignified life. Lebanon will remain a homeland for all its people, and its towns—from the far north to the far south, from the Bekaa to the mountains and the coast—will remain one heart and one spirit, resistant to political classifications and attempts to exploit titles and divisions. Joy brings Lebanese together, tourism unites them, and the homeland embraces all its children, while divisive rhetoric only strengthens their commitment to unity and belief that Lebanon can only rise through all its regions and people.