The Lebanese Tourism Ministry is going to launch its ‘Promoting Lebanon Board’ soon, said Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud earlier this week. This committee will comprise private sector figures under the chairmanship of the tourism minister. Speaking at a lunch debate organised by the American Lebanese Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) held in his honour, Abboud said that the primary goal of the board “is to devise a strategy aimed at improving Lebanon’s image abroad and to determine which means and methods would be used to achieve this goal, such as advertising and publicity campaigns in the international media to promote the rich aspects of Lebanon, and so on,” he said.
Lebanon played host to a record number of Lebanese, Arab and European tourists last year, despite the recession that affected the European Union and several Gulf states. According to Abboud, Beirut has 80 percent of all Lebanese tourism. “Our efforts would be mandated more and more to bring people in but not exclusively to one or two regions, but rather generate a flow of tourists across all Lebanon and its economic sectors, thereby touching the lives of the widest segment of the population. In fact, the more tourists are urged to go around the country, the more the potential increases for them to spend money and make the ‘cash registers ring’ for all Lebanese,” he added.
The ministry will devise a marketing and communications strategy campaign that will improve global perceptions of Lebanon. Abboud stresses the importance of working together with international and local travel agencies to generate more and more organised tours in the country. “These initiatives will make Lebanon a real 365-days-a-year tourist destination, while increasing the occupancy and sales potential across all Lebanese regions,” he said.
