A Frosty Bite: Lebanese Tourism Impacted by Ongoing Economic Crisis

Skiers on the slopes in Lebanon (Wikipedia)

Despite the abundance of powdery snow on ski slopes, the Lebanese tourism sector is experiencing a particularly difficult winter. Deterred by the ongoing economic and political crisis in the country, the famous ski resorts of Lebanon, including Mzaar, are seeing low visitor numbers during the usually profitable winter holiday season. Though resort managers are offering discounts in hopes of attracting visitors, continued economic and political instability has made this a disappointing winter for Lebanon’s tourism industry. 

Entangled in the worst national crisis since its lengthy civil war ended in 1990, Lebanon’s social, political, and economic upheaval is reverberating across various industries. For a country that is heavily reliant on tourism, empty slopes and hotel rooms spell trouble. The president of the Lebanese Hotel Federation for Tourism said at a conference in Beirut on December 19 that more than 150,000 people, ranging from hotel owners and partners to employees and their dependents, are facing economic hardship. This observation is confirmed by industry workers. Bassam Dalle, a local tour guide in northern Lebanon, noted in an interview with Reuters that the ski slopes are “looking less crowded… [the] traffic was less. It’s obvious, we all know why.” 

For Lebanese nationals, one reason for skipping the slopes may be financial. To prevent mass cash withdrawals in response to the economic unrest in the country, banks across Lebanon now limit how much cash depositors can withdraw. Despite this restriction, the U.S. dollar is becoming more scarce as more people are withdrawing money from banks in dollars. Local banks are now imposing unprecedented capital controls, which significantly hinders employers’ ability to meet their payroll obligations on time. Also, primarily due to the scarcity of dollars, employers who used to pay their employees in U.S. dollars, which are used almost interchangeably with the local currency, now increasingly pay in Lebanese pounds instead. The value of the pound has been hit hard by the economic crisis. Such financial anxieties, in turn, are forcing even those with money to reconsider their spending priorities this winter. 

On the other hand, the lack of foreign visitors seems to be rooted in the politically and socially tumultuous situation in Lebanon. Though foreign tourists visit Lebanon year-round, December is a particularly profitable season due to Christmas and other festivities. Recent protests, however, have seriously impacted the number of foreign visitors, including Lebanese expatriates, who are now reluctant to visit. One Finnish guide who works near the Mzaar ski resort reported that a third of his booked Nordic clients canceled this year.

To draw more visitors in this economic environment, ski resorts such as Mzaar slashed their rates by up to 30 percent. In addition, an especially snowy winter created a prime environment for skiing, a development that would have been welcomed by the tourism sector in past years. Nevertheless, even attractive business deals and fresh snowfall have failed to revitalize the Lebanese tourism sector this winter.