Jean Aboud, the head of the Syndicate of Travel and Tourism Offices, expressed his deep regret in a statement today, Wednesday, regarding the disaster that has befallen the summer season and how "the situation suddenly flipped upside down." He revealed that "significant losses have been incurred by various tourism sectors, particularly the tourism and travel sector, which has seen a decline in its business of over 70 percent."
In this context, Aboud noted the "substantial losses suffered by many travel and tourism companies that, as usual, organized trips from Lebanon abroad, which have almost completely collapsed." In his statement, he said, "The season was flourishing, and it was expected that the number of incoming visitors would exceed 15,000 to 16,000 people daily in August. However, today, the situation is extremely dire," pointing out that "the number of arrivals has dropped to minimal levels, primarily limited to Lebanese who traveled abroad, while departures from Lebanon have become the norm, as everyone who came to Lebanon, including Lebanese expatriates and Arab tourists, left in haste."
Aboud added, "This reality has led to a significant increase in demand for travel tickets from Lebanon to any foreign destination, with around 15,000 departures daily. This coincided with a lack of supply from airlines, except for a small portion of this demand, amidst over 12 airlines suspending their flights to Rafik Hariri International Airport - Beirut, resulting in severe confusion in the travel ticket market in Lebanon."
He explained that "the significant increase in demand for travel tickets combined with insufficient supply, coupled with a considerable decrease in the number of arrivals in Lebanon and a drop in the aircraft occupancy to about one-third, along with a significant surge in insurance premium prices for the coming flights, has led to a substantial hike in ticket prices." He clarified that "one of the key factors contributing to the increase in ticket prices was covering the operational costs of the planes coming to Lebanon with low occupancy."
Aboud affirmed that "the legitimate travel and tourism offices affiliated with the syndicate are making tremendous efforts to meet the needs of their clients and the requirements of the Lebanese people," hoping that "matters would become clearer quickly, and the situation would stabilize for the higher national interest of Lebanon and its citizens."
