Lebanon’s F&B operators face an economic crisis and low tourism

ENAR

The once mighty food and beverage (F&B) sector is today falling under the weight of the current economic crisis—the dollar shortage, increased cost of living due to exchange rates, and lower purchasing power—and lack of tourists, with no respite in sight. Once optimistic F&B operators, who had always insisted that the sector was resilient enough to withstand internal turmoil, are nowadays at a loss for words when asked about the current state of F&B sector in Lebanon and its future.  The early indicators Despite the first nine months of 2019 being good for tourism in Lebanon, F&B operators told Executive that they did not feel the positive effects, instead continuing to face the difficulties they had encountered in 2018 and then some. Executive reported at the end of 2018 that the F&B sector was suffering from an unregulated market and a subsequent increase in competition that had negatively impacted many