With Lebanon perhaps heading for an all-time record in terms of the number of visitors entering the country, hotel occupancy rates are soaring this summer. In the first six months of 2004, 506,367 foreigners entered Lebanon, up from 348,542 during the same period last year. In July and August the number is expected to almost double. Last year some 300,000 Arab visitors came during summer alone.
The ministry of tourism this year expects a total of some 1.5 million tourists to enter Lebanon, which would break the 1974 record of 1.4 million. And so it is a perfect summer for Lebanon’s hotel sector. Beirut’s luxury hotels claimed an occupancy rate of 75% in June, which is expected to increase by some 10% in July and August. Nizar Alouf, general manager of the Riviera, claimed an occupancy rate of 73.3% in June, which he expected would increase to 80% July and August.
The Phoenicia InterContinental, Beirut’s largest hotel, saw 77.4% of its 13,800 beds occupied in June, while Rotana, one of the smaller hotels with a maximum capacity of 3,840 beds, boasted the highest June occupancy rate with 91%.
But it is not just Beirut that is reportedly doing well. The Sheraton in Bhamdoun is “nearly full” the whole summer, according to the reservations desk. A smaller hotel in the Bhamdoun-Aley area, the Carlton, saw a third of its 70 rooms occupied in June, yet is fully booked during July and August. The medium size Sheikh Hotel in Bhamdoun reported similar rates. Though Bhamdoun is picking up rapidly, Broummana, in the Metn, is still doing well, as it did last year. The Grand Ville Hotel, with its 118 rooms and 52 apartments, had an occupancy rate of 50% to 60% in June and September, and of almost 85% in July and August, according to its reservations manager. The Belle Vue Palace, a small family hotel of 65 rooms, has been fully booked for the whole summer. Nearly all hotels reported that some 80% to 90% of their summer clientele originates from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.
