Lebanon sees large scale hotel closures outside Beirut

Lebanon sees large scale hotel closures outside Beirut

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2023-01-26 | 11:22

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Lebanon sees large-scale hotel closures outside Beirut

Pierre Achkar, President of the Lebanese Hotel Association, the Federation for Tourism Industries in Lebanon, and the National Council of Tourism in Lebanon said in a statement that "everything in Lebanon today is against tourism," as the situation is influenced by the political, social, and financial reality, "but those in charge of tourism institutions believe that this reality must change, especially since Lebanon still enjoys its tourism assets and the capabilities of its people."

Achkar revealed that there had been widespread closures of 3- and 4-star hotels outside Beirut after their operating rate touched zero, assuring that these hotels would resume their work in the summer.   

He attributed this situation to the decline in the number of tourists, in contrast to the "terrible" increase in the cost of energy for tourism institutions, especially hotels, which ranged between 35 percent and 40 percent of operating expenses, while the international average ranges between 8 percent and 10 percent, which means that tourism institutions in Lebanon pay four times the average cost of energy compared to other institutions around the world.   

He pointed out that "hotels managed during the summer season to achieve financial