Bright, hospitable lights are blinking by comparison: A Q&A with Haitham Mattar

Sustainable tourism is one important vertical under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8, for achieving decent work and economic growth. While the clock is ticking hazardously for all SDGs across all countries, the barriers are both regional-context specific and structurally high in Lebanon when the country aims at achieving the ninth sub-target of SDG 8, which is to “devise and implement policies to promote sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products.” To discuss the sustainable tourism prospects of Lebanon, Executive sat down with Haitham Mattar, the managing director of hotel operator IHG Group (locally carrying the fame of the Intercontinental Phoenicia hotel) in the India, Middle East and Africa (IMEA) region. Mattar is a Lebanese hospitality sector executive who visited Beirut on the occasion of a new hotel brand’s arrival in the heart of the Beirut hotel district. How are you going to reposition