It has become obvious that Lebanon is putting a huge effort to promote the tourism sector this season. We’ve been witnessing, and in the past couple of months, many projects and measures that aim to attract tourists and ensure that their trip runs smoothly and their stay be the most enjoyable.
After implementing a partial expansion project at Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport and completing its first stage just these past days, the airport took a new initiative under the slogans Bayt Baytak (This is your home) and Welcome in order to greet the arriving visitors in a warm and special way.
In this regard, welcoming signs are now displayed in various areas in the airport, mainly in the arrival hall, greeting and welcoming the visitors to our country.
The welcoming initiative doesn’t stop at that. Employees of the Airport Duty-Free Department, in coordination with the Ministry of Tourism, are standing by the arrival lanes, offering appealing varieties of nuts, sweets, and local natural soaps to all the arriving visitors.
The expressions of the arriving travelers have been priceless. From tired and stressed by their flights to a prompt switch into happily surprised and de-stressed, the arrivals are getting more than they could have ever expected, smiling and voicing out their admiration and thanks at this welcome-home initiative that makes them feel esteemed.
Lebanon is gearing up for an influx of tourists this summer. We, at The961, already know from our fans in the diaspora, that many have already made their plans to visit Lebanon, some after decades of absence, some who were born abroad, and some have already arrived.
As per our government’s expectation, the main influx would be probably from Saudi Arabia that lifted its travel warning back in February, after a 15-month ban, the UAE that is expected to do so any time now as recently promised, and from Italy upon the agreement achieved by our Ambassador to Italy, Mira Daher.
In a recent report, The National News Agency (NNA) stated that the beginning of the month of June appeared encouraging in terms of airport traffic.
In the first ten days of June, the passenger traffic increased by 33.7% recording 258 and 702 thousand passengers compared to 193 and 391 thousand passengers during the same period last year in 2018.
The report also stated that it is expected that the coming period will witness an increase in the number of passengers at the airport, especially as the academic year has come to an end in many countries, marking the start of summer vacations.
