Lebanese officials are the kings of temporary fixes. For years now government employees have turned a blind eye on infrastructural problems plaguing the country’s various economic sectors. The Lebanese tourism sector is no exception. According to Mohamad Chamsedine of Information International, before the civil war Lebanon boasted some 362 hotels with 28,000 beds. Today only 124 hotels with 8,000 beds remain. Figures vary, however, from one source to another. Pierre Achkar, head of the Lebanese Hotel Association, puts the number of rooms available in Lebanon at about 20,000 with 6,000 rooms in the Beirut region alone, of which 3,000 are in five-star hotels. Inaccurate hotel classification is also a problem for industry players in a country where international norms are often not met by establishments, especially ones located outside Beirut. “We have requested a review of the norms and regulations adopted by the hotel industry,” Achkar said, explaining that many
