Joumana Azzi Branch manager at Wild Discovery Travel & Tourism E How many Lebanese are taking holidays abroad on an annual basis and how has this figure evolved over the last few years? What characterizes the outbound Lebanese tourist market? Is the trend of package tours catching on? While we do not have exact figures on the number of Lebanese taking holidays abroad on an annual basis, the market for outbound holidays as a whole has been increasing substantially over the last few years, with many people going away three to four times a year. The statistics on airport passenger traffic clearly indicate that there has been a substantial increase in departures over the years up until the first month of 2005. The year 2005 witnessed a decrease not only in the incoming flow of passengers, but also in the outbound tourism market due to the events Lebanon went through.
