The minister of tourism for Lebanon expressed optimism about revival of the travel industry in the UAE while attending the UN World Tourism Organization Summit (UNWTO) yesterday. Elie Marouni acknowledged the negative impact on tourism in the UAE but said they believed this will only be a slowdown and the UAE has a huge potential to recover. Mr. Marouni said the inter-regional growth of tourism will offset the global slowdown.
Tourism growth in the Middle East is expected to drop sharply to 5% in the second half of the year, from 25% in the first half. Dr. Rifani said other regions and UAE member states are closely following developments in the region. He acknowledged the worrying signs about the second half of this year “oblige us to be more vigilant.”
