How come tourism in Lebanon is very little, when its a beautiful country?
BLUNT & CURIOUS asked:
It is not fair when Italy, Greece and Malta get all the tourists, while Lebanon gets none. Lebanon has White mountains, pretty beaches,nice climate, food, music&culture. What do you think is drawing people from visiting ? There are barely any actual travel questions here. What do you think we should do to improve tourism ??
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It is not fair when Italy, Greece and Malta get all the tourists, while Lebanon gets none. Lebanon has White mountains, pretty beaches,nice climate, food, music&culture. What do you think is drawing people from visiting ? There are barely any actual travel questions here. What do you think we should do to improve tourism ??
August 22nd, 2009 at 2:21 am
That was a really good question bro,
Well, the ongoing war with Israel is the ONLY factor thats hindering our progress and development, in addition to attracting tourists!
Look, Israel does NOT want Lebanon to prosper! If you look closely, you will notice that Israel tries to consistently sabotage Lebanons tourism by creating Chaos in the Summer vacation!
My instinct tells me that, during this summer, Israel WILL do something stupid in order to further end Lebanons progress!
However, I pormise you that once Israel leaves Lebanon alone, Lebanon WILL become the Most beautiful, or one of the most beautiful countries in the World!
I promise….
take care!
August 25th, 2009 at 3:28 am
hi, i am Lebanese and although i have never been to Lebanon (I live in Greece) i have to say the reason why people dont come to Lebanon and the Middle East in general is because they are scared, and they are not what would you call safe countries to travel to. I personally think this is false, otherwise i wouldnt be going there this summer with my friends. However, i can not escape the fact that there is some truth behind this thinking. Middle East does have the biggest terrorism rates, and faces human right issues. For example: if a woman in Egypt gets beaten by her husband, she can not run to the police since no laws about wife abuse exist there.
There is no doubt that Lebanon is beautiful, but to be frank and honest, Italy and Greece are bigger and safer countries with more to offer, and are more famous when it comes to all the aspects you just mentioned (culture, history, beauty and etc.) And you do not want to have too many tourists either. Look what happened to Greece… it received 20 million tourists last year alone where 14 million went to the islands. I travel to the islands almost every summer, and i am saddened to see how much the Greeks have changed from tourism. They used to be some of the most hospitable people, now they have becomed very cold, materialistic, arrogant and unfriendly. They care more about where you are from, than who you are. Countless of bars and clubs have been built there that you have to be a mile away to stop hearing the noise, which is sad because you have to go to small towns and villages if you want to experience the original Greek way of life. Thank God i live in Thessaloniki, and people here are so much friendlier, laid back and helpful. Anyways, i hope people would see the beauty of Lebanon one day and visit it more. l have seen pictures of it and it looks beautiful and i cant wait to visit it this summer. Peace.
August 25th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
I would LOVE to tour Lebanon!!! My interest in this little country stems from my study of middle east history, and the fact I knew someone from Lebanon, who moved out as a child after his home was blown up. Any tour books on Lebanon stress the beauty of the country and indicate that not ALL of the historical sites have been bombed to smitherines. And therein, lies your answer, mon ami. People equate Lebanon with bombing and chaos. It’s reputation as being the Paris of the east are long-ago forgotten. Improve tourism by advertising in the west. Turkey has done a good job at that, as has Israel to cite just two examples I’ve noticed in my area. Remember that Americans aren’t overwhelmingly educated about the rest of the world.
WHERE SPECIFICALLY DO YOU RECOMMEND GOING IN LEBANON IF I SHOULD END UP GOING??? (I’d really like to…)
August 27th, 2009 at 5:34 am
stop talk show programs which is all about politics and which let people take a bad look about Lebanon because of the politics in it and this show them that it is not secure so they can not risk it and come
I’m quite sure if they stop talking about politics in media for a year we will get tourism more than Italy
August 28th, 2009 at 7:20 am
it’s simple actually..
the whole touristic action went down in a big number!! and that started right the summer following the assassination of Hariri… i don’t want to get to political issues here, i am not really involved in politics and i don’t wish to be, everybody knows that Hariri is the one who provided good relationships with Saudi Arabia and following that with Kuwait and the other arabic countries of the same region.. and we know that the biggest tourists here in Lebanon are Arabs, of course there are Europeans too but the Arab tourists’ number is wider.. so that was taken away… because of safety reasons… the situation in Lebanon is not secure for strangers, we lebanese are used to it… but it’s considered dangerous… and i think the place where tourists used to love to be at, Downtown, is ruined now.. with the tents and apparently the smell… so that’s a turn off for the tourists. . but safety is number one… and we’re now lacking of it unfortunately
August 28th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
who told u lebanon isnt full of tourists?????
its the most Arab country that has tourists from all around the world..Israel and America try 2 terrify people from visitin it coz they r our main enemies and they know Lebanon depends on tourism..dont worry,there isnt anythin 2 be scared of and we have too many tourists here
PEACE
August 29th, 2009 at 3:36 am
Well it isn’t helped by the constant threat of war !
I have not long returned & had a wonderful time but the presence of the Army everywhere you go is a reminder of just how serious the threat is…
August 29th, 2009 at 10:10 pm
It is only partially Israel’s fault, just as much as it is Syria’s fault. Look at it this way We’ve been in a state of war with Israel since 1948, but we had a wonderful tourist season throughout the 50s, 60s, and early 70s.
It’s because the West hasn’t stopped looking at Lebanon as a horrible country since the civil war. I still hear ignorant Americans talk about Beirut as if it’s hell on earth. They still believe that Christians are being cleansed by Muslims. It’s ridiculous. Even with that, the current political crisis isn’t doing us any favors.
If anything, we have the Palestinians to blame for starting a war in the 70s, the Lebanese ourselves to blame for keeping it going, the Syrians for interfering in Lebanon for decades, and Israel for retaliating in brutal fashion to all attacks on them.
That said, we still enjoy a decent tourism season. It’s shifted though, from mainly European and American tourists in the past to tourists from the Gulf Arab States.
Lew, the best time to go is in the Summer. I suggest you visit. It’s such a beautiful country.
September 2nd, 2009 at 8:27 am
Good question.
It’s not the fault of Lebanese people, per se. They’re probably the best attraction of all in Lebanon.
To me, it’s the neighborhood in which they reside. Having Syria and Israel move in on either side of you would definitely drive down your property value – and the interest of anyone wanting to visit you.
September 4th, 2009 at 2:03 am
If all of the outside terrorists would leave, that would improve tourism. Syria is to blame big time for the problems. Iran as well for funding groups like Hezbollah. Syria is still meddling with Lebanon and has not completely withdrawn. The Middle East wants Lebanon as an Islamic Republic. I am sure it will eventually happen since the Christians are outnumbered. Most fled the country during the Civil War and Syria’s unlawful occupation.