VZCZCXRO6008
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHKUK RUEHROV
DE RUEHLB #0837/01 2051810
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 241810Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5411
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 3481
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 000837 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ELA AND EEB/IFD/ODF 
P FOR DRUSSELL, RRANGASWAMY 
DRL/NESA FOR WHITMAN, BARGHOUT 
STATE PASS USAID LAUDATO/NANDY/SCOTT 
PARIS FOR JMILLER 
TREASURY FOR PARODI/BLEIWEISS/AHERN 
USDOC FOR 4520/ITA/MAC/ONE 
NSC FOR SHAPIRO/MCDERMOTT 
OVP FOR HMUSTAFA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EFIN EIND ENRG PGOV LE
SUBJECT: LEBANON: TOURISM IS BUSTLING IN BEIRUT, BUT ONLY 
BEIRUT 
 
REF: BEIRUT 00808 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (U)  Beirut's record-setting summer tourism has bolstered 
business and crowded the capital city, but the benefits have 
not extended far past the city limits.  Lebanese expatriates 
frequent dining establishments in some peripheral cities, but 
the historical GOL focus on infrastructure development in 
Beirut, at the expense of development in other districts, has 
limited tourism's expansion as well.  The Ministry of Tourism 
(MOT) has played an insignificant role in the current boom 
and contacts note that lack of MOT foresight and GOL support 
of the industry is crippling its potential.  Given Lebanon's 
huge expatriate base, small steps to improve the sector would 
yield major impact.  End summary. 
 
TOURISM BOOMING 
--------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Tourism is booming in Lebanon, with the Ministry of 
Tourism (MOT) estimating two million tourists will visit 
Lebanon by the end of the year.  (Note: Tourism in 2008 
reached 1.4 million.  End note.)  MOT Director General Nada 
Sardouk said 760,000 travelers had already entered Lebanon by 
end-June 2009.  Although it has received much attention in 
the summer months, Lebanon's current tourism boom started 
after May 2008, when participants at the Doha Conference 
appointed President Michel Sleiman and relative security 
ensued in the country. 
 
¶3. (U) Feature stories on Lebanon in the world press, 
including USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, the Guardian, 
in addition to the New York Times' citation of Beirut as a 
top destination for 2009 have raised the city's image as a 
tourist hotspot.  Lebanon's Jeita Grotto was named as a 
finalist for a Swiss ranking of seven new natural wonders of 
the world, drawing more international attention.  New 
companies in Beirut catering to tourists are thriving; local 
press has highlighted the popularity of walking tours and 
events are held nightly throughout the city. 
 
RESTAURANTS 
THRIVE REGARDLESS 
------------------ 
 
¶4. (SBU) As discussed reftel, security is the most important 
indicator for the performance of tourism in Lebanon.  The 
country's restaurant sector, however, adapted during the 
several political and security upheavals of recent years and 
has thrived since mid-2005.  With no available official 
figures, the head of the syndicate of restaurants, cafes and 
nightclubs, Paul Ariss estimates that about 400 new 
restaurants/cafes opened in Lebanon since 2006, raising the 
total number of establishments to 5000 (2000 of which are 
seasonal), and employing up to 50,000 people.  Following the 
assassination of Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in February 
2005, activity in downtown Beirut and its immediate 
surroundings came to a halt, but restaurants expanded to 
different areas in Greater Beirut, in Lebanon, and abroad; 
approximately 40 Lebanese establishments sold more than 200 
franchises across the Middle East. 
 
HOTEL BUSINESS 
CENTERED IN BEIRUT 
-------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Despite this summer's boom in tourism, a closer look 
into the industry reveals several flaws that currently limit 
its potential.  The focus of infrastructure development since 
the 1990's on downtown Beirut has led to the establishment of 
restaurants, hotels, and shopping centers in main districts, 
thus catering to the demands of tourists, but it has 
negatively affected the hotel industry in the Greater Beirut 
area and throughout the rest of the country.  Only when 
Beirut hotels are full do tourists start looking for hotels 
outside Beirut, head of the syndicate of hotel owners Pierre 
 
BEIRUT 00000837  002 OF 002 
 
 
Achkar told us.  Those attending the many summer music and 
art festivals in Lebanon, including in Baalbeck and 
Beiteddine, patronize restaurants and cafes along the way, 
but rarely stay in hotels overnight. 
 
GOL TAKING TOURISM 
FOR GRANTED 
------------------ 
 
¶6. (SBU) Since the tourism sector has managed to recover 
quickly and without government assistance as Lebanon has 
surmounted crisis after crisis, contacts say there is no 
political will from the GOL to take extra measures to support 
the sector.  Tourism is taken for granted, with the sector 
perceived as a "cow to be milked," Ariss said.  The GOL 
indirectly provides some subsidized loans to the tourism 
sector, but other benefits, such as the reduced rate on 
electricity enjoyed by industrial operations, do not apply. 
 
¶7. (SBU) The MOT has promoted Lebanon as a tourist 
destination through participation in international tourism 
fairs in Europe and the Middle East but has made little 
effort to seek other promotional avenues.  Contacts note that 
the MOT lacks a vision and strategy for the development of 
the sector, as well as a qualified staff and an adequate 
budget to do its job.  According to DG Sardouk, the MOT 
continues to work closely with the private sector and is 
focusing increasingly on rural and agro-tourism, but much 
work remains to be done. 
 
SMALL STEPS, 
LARGE IMPACT 
------------ 
 
¶8. (SBU) Given Lebanon's huge expatriate base, small steps, 
such as MOT coordination with embassies abroad to encourage 
visits home, could have a major impact.  Achkar noted that 
the simple creation of a unified country logo would 
facilitate tourism promotion.  Draft laws and amendments for 
the modernization of the sector have been waiting in 
parliament for years, and parliament has no committee 
exclusively for tourism to review them. 
 
¶9. (SBU) With many qualified staff having left for the Gulf, 
the sector lacks the necessary resources to train new 
recruits and improve the quality of service, without 
government help.  Revival of the National Council for 
Tourism, which played a crucial role for tourism promotion 
through its offices in Europe and the Middle East until its 
mandate expired in the 1990's, would also help develop the 
sector. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) Lebanon's economy has always been service-based, 
with the tourism sector one of its most important 
contributors and the private sector its most important 
driver.  However, the MOT remains a small ministry, with an 
inadequate budget relative to the importance of the sector to 
the economy.  Basic infrastructure, such as roads, 
electricity, and water, that are vital for the development of 
tourism outside of Beirut are in desperate need of attention. 
 The incoming tourism minister must harness political will to 
increase awareness of the importance of tourism for the 
Lebanese economy -- and thus for security and political 
stability in general -- or the tourism sector will remain 
below its true potential. 
 
SISON