أرشيف الأخبار

Natalia Nasser

Regional Press Network

BEIRUT: Saudi tourists contributed over 20 percent of all tourism spending in Lebanon in the first half of 2009, showed a recent report by research firm Global Refund. Emirati and Kuwaiti citizens came second after Saudis contributing an equal 12 percent of total money spent. They were followed by Egyptian tourists who came third in terms of spending at a rate of 8 percent, and tourists from Jordan who accounted for 7 percent of total money spent.

Tourism spending was concentrated in the capital Beirut with an 82 percent share. It was followed by the Metn area which attracted 12 percent of tourism expenditure, and the Keserwan region which came third receiving 3 percent of total money spent by tourists. The Baabda area ranked last, attracting only 1 percent of spending.

Most of the tourists or 67 percent of the total number spent their money on fashion and clothing, the highest percentage among all other categories. The remaining 25 percent of the figure was spent on watches (11 percent), perfume and cosmetics (5 percent), and home and garden products (5 percent).

However, the report cites a drop in spending growth in the first half of the year when compared to the same period a year earlier. Spending by Kuwaitis dropped 18 percent, according to Global Refund’s statistics, UK tourists by 12 percent, Syrian tourists by 7 percent, French tourists by 9 percent, and those from Egypt decreased their spending by 4 percent.

According to recent figures released by the Tourism Ministry, Lebanon received 191,600 tourists in June alone, growing 40 percent from the same month a year earlier.

Occupancy rates at the country’s hotels also increased in 2009, reaching an average of 85 percent to 90 percent by the end of June, according to official figures.