Tourism in Lebanon declines due to Israeli occupation aggressions

Tourism in Lebanon this summer has been deeply affected by the constant aggression of the Israeli Occupation in the South of Lebanon, which has led countries to warn their citizens of not traveling there. In a statement to KUNA, the Minister of Tourism Walid Nassar said that the Lebanese government has been working tirelessly to stay on the tourism map, nationally and internationally. He added that the Ministry supported the participation of private sector in tourism fairs abroad, through pavilions dedicated to showing Lebanon and its culture. Because of that, Lebanon won "Best Arab Promotional Campaign Award" for its summer campaign "Ahla Bhal Talli" during Berlin's International Tourism Exchange (ITB) last year. Nassar revealed that more than 150 touristic sites have been uncovered in Lebanon, whether they are cultural, environmental or religious sites, they are helping shine a light on areas that are full of history. The president of the Hotel Owners Association, Pierre Achkar, said that the Israeli o ccupation's threats have pushed everyone away from visiting Lebanon, whether by postponing their trips or cancelling them altogether, which has deeply hurt their tourism. The only people who have been visiting Lebanon are other Lebanese visiting their families, even though a million and 200 thousand Lebanese are expected to be there this summer, they would not be staying at hotels but at family homes instead. For this, hotel owners have had to sell their own lands to keep their hotels afloat, however some were unfortunate and had to sell their hotel establishments Source: Kuwait News Agency