Five star hoteliers preparing for forecasted boost in tourism from Saudi Arabia

The rising temperatures in Beirut signify a rapidly approaching summer, typically a peak tourism season in Lebanon and one that five star hoteliers in the country are eagerly anticipating. Tourism in Lebanon has been slowly getting back on its feet over the past four years—thanks to a diversification of markets that included European and South American visitors to the country—but hospitality stakeholders expect 2019 to be the best in terms of visitor numbers to Lebanon since 2010. The reason for this unabashed optimism largely lies in the Gulf, specifically in the lifting of the travel advisory against Lebanon by Saudi Arabia in late February. Saudi nationals had been warned against travel to Lebanon for almost seven years—although the advisory was briefly lifted in 2017 only to be reinstated following Prime Minister Hariri’s retracted resignation—and over that period there was an almost consistent decrease of visitors from Saudi Arabia to Lebanon.