Elie Marouni was appointed Lebanon’s minister of tourism in July 2008 and held the chair until the new cabinet was formed in November 2009. Executive sat with Marouni shortly before he left office in order to discuss the strategy that the ministry had adopted to promote tourism in Lebanon and the major issues and concerns of the tourism industry.
E What is the Ministry of Tourism’s marketing strategy to promote Lebanon?
We do this in several ways: first, by signing tourism cooperation agreements with other ministries of tourism or other responsible authorities. We sign agreements for tourism exchange and promotion. This year we signed 12 of these, the most important being with Spain, China, Mexico, Kuwait, Egypt and Jordan, among others.
Other than that, we are members of the Arab Tourism Organization, which aims to strengthen tourism between Arab countries, and the Lebanese Minister of Tourism (being myself at this time) was elected to be the president of the Arab Tourism Organization until 2011. We are also members of the World Tourism Organization, based in Madrid. This international and regional exposure is the first way.
Second, we have promotional movies about Lebanon that are broadcasted on international television channels and through embassies, and also through direct collaboration with the companies responsible for organizing incoming trips.
Last, we participate in international tourism exhibitions, in London, Berlin, and Moscow, as well as elsewhere around the world. We also organize exhibitions in Lebanon for all countries to have tourism stands. Next year the exhibition will be in April and a lot of Arab countries will be participating.
E What are the major obstacles facing the ministry?
Today, in a country like Lebanon, the economy depends heavily on income from tourism. And in a country where there is no oil and not enough agriculture and manufacturing, we need the tourism sector as well as the ministry to be well supported so that it can perform all its duties.
Unfortunately, the ministry of tourism has the smallest budget in the Lebanese government, and therefore the first problem it faces is a weak financial status. The other weakness is the lack of coordination between the different ministries, because today you can’t have tourism without roads, without electricity or water, and you can’t have tourism in a polluted environment. All of these need emergency solutions in Lebanon, in addition to problems we face in regards to some hotels and restaurants, which also need immediate solutions.
E What problems are there with hotels and restaurants? And what is the role of the tourism police?
With some restaurants, we had problems with price manipulation; they weren’t abiding by the prices on the menus. We also had problems with booking cancellations made without customers’ knowledge. Sometimes it is because [owners] are greedy and think one customer will pay more than another — therefore we also need more tourism police. Their role is to monitor prices and implement the decisions we make regarding the complaints that we receive, and also to monitor problems… Their role is to implement the decisions of the ministry. Now the number [of tourism police] is very low and the ministry’s abilities are very weak – if their number increases, we will be better able to do our duties.
E How much is the budget?
The budget does not surpass $6 million or $7 million a year, including wages.
E When we say that this country depends on tourism and services, why do you think that the budget is still so low?
Because there is a misperception that says we depend on the private sector, so let it do the promotional work. There is also the perception, from some authorities, that Lebanon is a tourism destination and that people will come with or without promotion. And that is wrong, because there are generations that know Lebanon but others don’t. And because of my own travels and conversations I’ve had, I realized that some people don’t know anything about Lebanon — therefore publicity becomes essential.
E Since the budget is that low, are you trying to work with the private sector?
We are collaborating with the private sector when it comes to festivals; we contribute to them financially despite the circumstances. We are contributing to the Baalbek festival, as well as those in Saida and Tripoli. We also contribute symbolically to small festivals in towns. We also make many promotional movies.
All of our work is with the private sector, because the ministry cannot, for example, open a restaurant, but it offers licenses and monitors, and all the things related to the revival of tourism.
E I’ve heard that there are not enough three-star hotels in Lebanon and other hotels are expensive – is this one of the reasons why Europeans are less keen to visit? Do you think that is true?
Yes it is very true, because those who come from the United States or Europe come for cultural reasons, and don’t look for five or six-star hotels, they look for cheaper and more affordable hotels. So we need a high number of two to three-star hotels in order to stir activity for the middle class. Now there is more awareness and some old two-star hotels are being fixed in order to absorb these people. We are also trying to secure some loans with the collaboration of banks. More than that my concentration was to develop balanced tourism so that it is not concentrated on the capital, but in all areas, especially in areas where we can showcase our natural beauty, monuments and religious places, which can attract a large amount of tourists.
E What kind of tourism is the most targeted? Is it mostly nightlife tourism?
No, that is not true. We have health tourism, and we have intellectual tourism. For example, this month there will be a gathering for Arab women writers that are coming to Lebanon, and a while ago we had the Francophone games, where 4,000 players came…and we have conference tourism. We also have sports and religious tourism, leisure tourism because some people travel simply to have a good time, and Lebanon is known for its hotels and restaurants, which are of a very high quality.
E Do you think we should concentrate more on cultural tourism?
We are observing millions on their way to see Jerash and Petra (in Jordan) and the Pyramids (in Egypt). Our historical tourism is a little bit weak, and we want to concentrate on the fact that we were able to take Lebanon’s Jeita Grotto to the final stage of the “Seven Wonders of the World” competition.
E Are there any other concerns that you would like to highlight?
I put forward a plan for Lebanon and called it ‘the visions for the manufacturing of tourism in Lebanon’, because in my view tourism is not a hobby anymore — today it is a whole basket of things, starting with the guest’s arrival at the airport, and extending to hotels, restaurants, means of transportation, and phone lines…all these should be secured.
I made my plan to accomplish balanced tourism development in the country and to include all these matters, and I submitted it to all the authorities and I will present it to the next minister in case he wants to follow it.
Also as a parliamentarian…I will follow up with the tourism committees to upgrade tourism regulations, because the problem is that tourism regulations are very old and obsolete and it is very important to upgrade them and to give incentives for investing in Lebanon.
A part of regulations refers to taxes and another part regards the bureaucratic process, which takes a very long time, so also we should ease these procedures in order to enhance tourism investments.
The ministry also needs to reinvigorate the labor force. We need new blood to enter the ministry and offer new ideas, because the ministry should present a beautiful picture of Lebanon and I think that the youth are the ones who can give that picture. The tourism ministry should be more highly regarded than it currently is due to the fact that it doesn’t contribute to the deficit in Lebanon but is in fact rather profitable, and helps to support the economy.
