Figures compiled by the Ministry of Tourism indicate that the number of incoming visitors to Lebanon totaled 1,404,768 tourists in the first nine months  of 2023, constituting an increase of 25.3% from 1,120,927 tourists in the  first nine months of 2022 and a surge of 113.2% from 659,030 visitors in the  first nine months of 2021.  The number of incoming visitors reached 274,787 visitors in the first quarter,  476,403 in the second quarter, and 653,578 in the third quarter of 2023, relative to 212,950 visitors in the first quarter, 357,788 in the second quarter,  and 550,189 in the third quarter of 2022. The figures represented increases  of 29% in the first quarter, 33.2% in the second quarter, and 18.8% in thethird quarter in 2023 from the corresponding quarters of the preceding year.  The figures exclude Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian arrivals. In addition,  the number of incoming visitors reached 88,378 in January, 85,682 in February, 100,727 in March, 123,399 in April, 143,208 in May, 209,796 in June,  267,702 in July, 210,458 in August, and 175,418 in September 2023. The  figures constituted increases of 41.8% in January, 26.4% in February, 21.6%  in March, 41% in April, 24% in May, 35.6% in June, 12.2% in July, 21.7%  in August, and 26.5% in September 2023 from the corresponding months of  the previous year.  Visitors from European countries totaled 581,511 tourists and accounted for 41.4% of incoming visitors in the first nine months of 2023,  followed by those from Arab countries with 353,518 visitors (25.2%), the Americas with 295,116 tourists (21%), Asia with 65,233  visitors (4.6%), Oceania with 61,562 visitors (4.4%), and Africa with 47,740 tourists (3.4%). Further, the number of visitors from Asia  surged by 48.3% in the first nine months of 2023 from the same period last year, followed by those from Europe (+31.4%), Oceania  (+30%), the Americas (+21.7%), the Arab countries (+16.8%), and Africa (+13.8%).  On a country basis, tourists from Iraq accounted for 12.6% of visitors in the first nine months of 2023, followed by visitors from theUnited States (11.3%), Germany (8.7%), France (8.5%), Canada (7%), Egypt and Sweden (4.2% each), Jordan (4.1%), England (3.6%),  Türkiye (2.2%), Kuwait (1.7%), Italy (1.5%), Brazil (1.4%), Venezuela (0.5%), Qatar (0.4%), Bahrain and Saudi Arabia (0.3% each),  and the UAE (0.06%); while other countries accounted for the remaining 72.4%.The increase in the number of visitor arrivals in the first nine months of 2023 is due to the resumption of normal activity following the  lifting of lockdown and social distancing measures in the country that the authorities imposed to contain the spread of the coronavirus,  to the relaxation of travel restrictions in the main country sources of visitors to Lebanon, as well as to promotion campaigns by the  Ministry of Tourism and to the competitive advantages that Lebanon presents in terms of the combination of attractiveness and pricing. (ICE BEIRUT)

Fonte notizia: Byblos Bank, Lebanon This Week, 23 - 28 October 2023