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Lodging industry grappling for visitors For the first time since 2007, Lebanese hotels and furnished apartments experienced a slump in occupants and revenue for 2011, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Byblos Bank research. Visitors spent $104.5 million on hotel and furnished apartments last year, a 17.3 percent fall compared to 2010 figures. Figures representing both the number of people who stayed in such lodgings and the total nights spent show a similar contraction of 15.8 percent and 17.3 percent, respectively. Besides Lebanese nationals, who made up 20 percent of the customers at such lodgings, Visitors from Saudi Arabia and Iraq made up 11 percent and 8.6 percent of clients, respectively, while Jordan, Syria and Kuwait made smaller visitor contributions. While clients from Iraq increased by 12.5 percent year-on-year, the number of hotel guests from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait shrunk by 25 percent each. Hold on Hotels One of