Empty hotels picture Lebanon’s tourism disaster

BEIRUT: The front door of the seaside Hotel Monroe is padlocked but a uniformed soldier greets visitors who enter through the back.

“Do you want to rent a room?” he asks from behind his desk.

Forget it.

The highrise hotel which was 100 per cent occupied has been closed since the aggression by Israel last month and there is no sign of when it will reopen, says the soldier who was not authorized to speak and did not give his name.

Other Beirut hotels remain open but are struggling with what the Lebanese tourism minister calls a “disaster” wrought by the 34-day war between Israel and the Hezbollah guerrillas.

Boasting a range of attractions including Mediterranean beaches, Roman ruins, skiing and nightlife, Lebanon had been on track to receive a record 1.6 million tourists this year as it recovered from the 1975-1990 civil war.

“We were supposed to have an excellent season,” said Tarek Ammache, director of operations at Le Meridien Commodore.

He said had been looking forward to 96 per cent occupancy in August, peak season when Arab tourists flee the scorching heat in their countries.

At Le Bristol, another luxury hotel in the upscale Hamra district, sales manager Chantal Zammar said visitors from the Persian Gulf had pushed her occupancy to nearly 90 per cent on July 10th.

The war broke out two days later.

“So by the 12th and 13th of July the occupancy dropped down to 15 to 20 per cent and everything was cancelled. All the tourists were cancelling their reservations and we had to pay them back,” Zammar said.

A ceasefire took effect on Aug 14 and the Bristol’s occupancy is now at 60 per cent, she said, thanks to bookings from journalists who came to cover the conflict but mostly from humanitarian workers who arrived to render assistance.

Zammar said the hotel is offering special rates to the aid workers — its contribution to Lebanon’s recovery effort.

“We are not making any profit,” she said.

One seaside hotel reporting an occupancy rate of about 20 per cent resorted to telephoning prospective clients on Wednesday in an attempt to solicit business.

At Le Meridien Commodore, Ammache credits his “very good” occupancy of 72 Per cent at the end of July to the journalists who return repeatedly to write about Lebanon’s cycle of violence. “Some journalists, it’s maybe their third or fourth stay here,” Ammache said.

In his six years at the hotel, Ammache has faced a series of crises including the 2003 American invasion of Iraq, and last year’s assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri, which also led to a temporary drop in tourism arrivals.

Hotel operators say Arab visitors tend to quickly return after a crisis. AFP correspondents have already observed a few Saudi Arabians in Beirut and some Kuwaitis in Bhamdoun.

At Le Bristol, Zammar said she has received inquiries from Gulf visitors interested in returning.

Arab tourists account for about 60 per cent of Ammache’s business at Le Meridien Commodore, with Europeans comprising 20 per cent and the rest from Asia, Africa and America.

Winning the European market takes at least two years of peace, he said.

“The problem with this case now, nobody can tell us it’s finished,” he said, referring to the tenuous ceasefire.

Israel bombed Beirut airport during the war but it has reopened for limited operation. Lebanese flag carrier Middle East Airlines and Royal Jordanian have been flying passengers to Beirut from Amman. “You cannot sell your hotel by telling people, ‘Come to Jordan to come to Beirut’,” complained Ammache.

On Wednesday, Lebanon proposed tax relief and other measures to help its tourism industry recover from direct and indirect losses which the tourism minister estimated are at least one billion dollars.

At the Hotel Monroe, the uniformed soldier and a plainclothes sergeant sit and wait. They do not know when guests will return.

“It will take time to heal our wounds,” one of them says.—AFP