The comeback year

After five long years, it seems the dark stormy clouds of dwindling tourist figures and empty rooms have finally cleared from the sky of Lebanese tourism. 2017 was reported by those in the industry to be smooth sailing, for the most part. There may still be some ominous weather ahead—the fallout from Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s resignation and subsequent retraction remains to be seen—but industry figures are confident the sector will continue to see gains. A good year Figures from the Ministry of Tourism show that 1,592,301 visitors entered Lebanon so far in 2017 (until October 2017) compared to 1,365,845 in 2012, the year tourism in Lebanon started to decline. The boost in tourist numbers this year was reflected in the performance of Beirut’s five-star hotels, all of which reported an increase in room occupancy and revenues from 2016, along with an increase in average room rates. “We closed 2016