Downtown blues

by Nabila Rahhal December 1, 2015

written by Nabila Rahhal December 1, 2015

Greg Demarque | Executive

Beirut Central District (BCD) is home to flagship stores of international high end retail brands such as Armani and Hermes; it is also where five star hotels such as The Four Seasons, Le Gray and Phoenicia are located, and where many restaurants and cafés, whether in Minet el-Hosn, Zaitunay Bay or Uruguay Street, can be found. And yet, most of BCD has been a ghost town for the past five years, save for a few exceptional months. The inactivity has particularly affected the retail and hospitality sectors, the mainstay of the area, with few going to its restaurants, hotels and shops. Hospitality sector figures The footfall challenges experienced in BCD are not restricted to the hospitality sector alone, with the retail sector also suffering. In fact, the entire hospitality sector in Lebanon has witnessed a drastic drop in consumers since 2010, according to Tony Ramy, president of the Syndicate of

Beirut Beirut Central District (BCD)downtown Food and beverage Footfall challenges lebanon Pierre Achkar Retail shopping Syndicate of Hotel Owners Syndicate of Owners of Restaurants Tony Ramy Uruguay Street

Nabila Rahhal

Nabila is Executive's hospitality, tourism and retail editor. She also covers other topics she's interested in such as education and mental health. Prior to joining Executive, she worked as a teacher for eight years in Beirut. Nabila holds a Masters in Educational Psychology from the American University of Beirut. Send mail

1 comment

Richard van der Graaf December 1, 2015 - 8:28 PM

The absence of president.a non-functioning parlement causes instability, key factos in the administration and development of key sectors.Not to mention this is a major omission.

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Downtown blues

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