BEIRUT, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Caretaker Tourism Minister Avedis Guidanian on Friday called upon the government to allocate an open budget for investment in the tourism sector in Lebanon, local media reported.
"Egypt, Jordan and Turkey are not more attractive than Lebanon but they know how to promote their touristic attractions. What we need in Lebanon is enough budget to promote our tourism sector and attract more tourists to our country," he said according to the National News Agency.
His remarks came during a workshop held at the Economic and Social Council to discuss challenges facing the tourism sector.
Guidanian said that the number of tourists who arrived in Lebanon in 2010 is only ten percent higher compared to the year 2018 but spending by tourists has changed remarkably.
Pierre Ashkar, president of the Syndicate of Hotel Owners in Lebanon, previously told Xinhua that Gulf tourists are the ones who spend mostly in Lebanon and they are absent nowadays.
"They also stay for long periods unlike tourists with other nationalities who come for only two or three days," he added.
Ashkar said that tourism activity will improve only when tourists from the Gulf return to Lebanon.
