Syria has high expectations for its tourism sector, perhaps too high, given a governmental objective that tourism should account for 15 percent of the country’s gross domestic product by 2015. The number of tourists, investments and tourism sector employees is slated to increase by 9 percent year-on-year. But five year plans are exactly that, plans. For Syria to start meeting these objectives, significant amounts of investment are required. “Syria can absorb $20 billion in the tourism sector over the next five years, according to existing and expected demand,” said Muhamad Wahoud, chairman of the Wahoud Group, a major developer and investor in Syrian tourism projects. What is notable is that these investments are starting to happen, and that the sector has grown exponentially over the past several years, from 2 million tourists in 2002, to more than 4 million last year. It also points to the marked shift in the
