Wave of suicide attacks threatens Lebanon's tourism industry

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• published: 03 Aug 2015
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LEADIN A wave of recent suicide bombings in Lebanon is threatening to keep tourists away from the country. The Government is playing down the security alert - creating a new glossy ad campaign to lure tourists back. STORYLINE Flames engulf part of the four-star Duroy Hotel by Beirut's corniche. A suicide bomber has blown himself up during a police raid on his room. Emergency services and TV crews gather at the scene - flashbacks to the past and Lebanon's long and drawn-out civil war. The roadblocks and sandbags are back, cafes and hotels are empty and many of the tourists have fled. Fear is gripping Lebanon following a spate of suicide bombings, and ongoing security sweeps are targeting militants, some of whom are believed to have used some of the more expensive hotels in Beirut. Lebanon is on high alert after the country was struck by three suicide attacks a within a week during June, killing at least two people and wounding dozens. It's triggered a wave of cancellations of hotel and flight bookings in a country already on edge. One French tourist staying in the Duroy calls the situation "alarming." On the corniche, just a block away, the staff of Petit Cafe loiter outside. The cafe's seats are completely empty. Mohammad al-Sayyed, Petit Cafe's manager, gestures to the empty terrace which overlooks the Mediterranean. "There are no customers, look. At a time like this the place would have been full." The suicide bomber was a Saudi national. His collaborator, also Saudi. This has added to the strain between Lebanon and the Gulf states. Following the attacks, the United Arab Emirates reissued a warning to its nationals not to travel to, or stay in Lebanon, making Lebanon's tourism industry worry that the other Gulf states will do the same. Tourism Minister Michel Pharaon is playing down the security threat. "For sure, the situation in the region is bad and Lebanon is better off than many other countries in the region, security wise," he says. But he says that might not always be the case. "At the same time, if there is funding and an insistence to target Lebanon, this will impact not just on the tourism sector but the overall situation in Lebanon." When the Syrian war broke out, tourists were just beginning to return to Lebanon after the 2006 Israeli-Lebanese conflict. But in the past three years, the numbers visiting the country have dropped by one million, from 2,300,000 visitors in 2010 to 1,300,000 visitors in 2013. With the odds working against them, the Ministry of Tourism has called on advertising agency M&C Saatchi to "dynamise" their tourism appeal with the 'LiveLoveLebanon' campaign. "We decided to say, ok, there are areas in Lebanon which have problems but not all areas," explains Alain Hochar, Managing Director of M&C Saatchi. It's a glossy campaign, designed to attract twenty and thirty-something travellers who like, "wine, adventure, culture, festival, nature and the beach." "Let us show how people live in Lebanon, with happiness, peace and security. So we designed this campaign so the Lebanese could show how they live in Lebanon," says Hochar. Likewise, high-end and luxury hotels are keen to stress that despite themselves being targeted by militants, they are operating as usual. Public relations manager, Rita Saad, shows-off the rooftop bar and infinity pool at the five-star Le Grey Hotel. She says tourists shouldn't be put off by the latest security warnings. "They know what the situation is, they know that things sometimes happen in Lebanon without really making it a dangerous country." Despite Saad's positive spin on the situation there could be yet more turmoil to come. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/80f5b32ca51309fd9becd05bbc92ff12 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork