Pierre Achkar The Lebanese Hotel Owners Association Of course the situation is extremely bad for tourism. Tourism and warfare just do not go hand in hand. We were en route to a record year in terms of foreign arrivals, but now everyone has left. Hotels in the Greater Beirut area, all along the coast, as well as the Chouf, are performing badly, are almost empty. Only hotels, furnished apartments and restaurants are performing well in the region from Beit Merri to Bcharre. Here, most hotels have an occupancy rates of 90% to 100%. Most rooms are occupied by internally displaced from the South or from areas close to the areas most affected by the war. Generally, the poor have to stay in schools, but the middle class and wealthier prefer to rent a house or take a hotel room. However, as soon as a ceasefire is signed they will all
