Tourism Syndicate: Holiday Flights Fully Booked Despite Ongoing Sector Concerns

Jan Abboud, President of the Syndicate of Travel and Tourism Office Owners, affirmed that "the situation in Lebanon's tourism sector remains concerning, as tourist movement has not yet regained its previous momentum due to the delicate circumstances facing Lebanon and the region."

Abboud clarified that "October and November are naturally months characterized by tourism stagnation in Lebanon," noting that "activity begins to improve from early December, peaking between December 18 and the end of the month, and continuing until early January."

He revealed that "flights heading to Lebanon from several key destinations, including London, Paris, Dubai, Riyadh, Jeddah, Madrid, and Athens, during the holiday period, recorded occupancy rates reaching 100 percent," confirming that these bookings have already been made, even though the flight dates are still relatively far off.

He pointed out that "some destinations saw the addition of new flights to meet growing demand, particularly Dubai and Paris," revealing that approximately 10 additional flights were scheduled from Dubai to Lebanon between December 20 and 30.

He stated: "Despite these positive indicators, they cannot be relied upon alone, especially since the anticipated activity remains confined to a short time frame and is insufficient to save the sector or compensate for losses incurred over the past years."

He noted that "tourism faces a set of challenges, foremost among them the global economic crisis, declining individual income, rising costs of living and travel, as well as significant increases in operational costs for tourism establishments."

Abboud revealed that "operational expenses have doubled, making work during last summer's season extremely difficult," saying: "We worked through the summer using our own flesh."

He confirmed that "tourism establishments barely managed to get through the four summer months due to high expenditures and reduced returns."

He emphasized that "the problem is not limited to the number of arrivals in Lebanon, but also includes their spending capacity during their stay." He explained that "declining purchasing power necessitates focusing on the volume of tourist spending and average length of stay, rather than merely relying on indicators of increasing visitor numbers."

Abboud indicated that "rising jet fuel prices resulted in increased air travel costs," noting that "airfare prices for expatriates coming from distant destinations rose by approximately 40 to 45 percent, while tickets for flights between Lebanon and Europe saw an increase ranging between 35 and 40 percent."