Lebanon’s beach club operators discuss summer 2020

On May 31, when beach clubs and resorts were given the green light to open for the season, following the government mandated COVID-19 lockdown measures, operators of such properties were faced with a dreary grey seascape. Not only did they need to learn and invest in new sanitization protocols in an attempt to severely reduce the risk of exposure of their staff and clients to the pandemic, they also had to deal with the implications of the ongoing economic and COVID-19 related crises in Lebanon.  On the demand side, these implications included less people willing to spend on leisure, because of their collapsing purchasing power, and some avoiding crowded places, even if outdoors, for fear of being exposed to the coronavirus.    On the operational side, the increase in the foreign exchange rate has meant an increase in almost all the costs beach clubs and resorts incur, including diesel for