Lebanon tourism to generate over four billion USD

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has estimated the direct contribution of the travel and tourism industry in Lebanon to be $1.36 billion to the country’s economy this year, or 5.7 per cent of the GDP, according to their report appearing in Lebanon This Week, an publication of the Byblos Bank group of companies.

The WTTC report added that the direct employment benefit will reach 80,000 jobs this year, or 5.9 per cent of Lebanon’s total employment for the year.

As travel and tourism have an impact on all segments of the economy, the indirect impact is even greater than the direct impact, and the report forecasts that the combined contribution for the year will be approximately $4.43 billion, or 18.7 per cent of Lebanon’s GDP.

The indirect impact will include 252,000 jobs, or nearly 19 per cent of all jobs in the country for 2008. The WTTC defines travel and tourism (T&T) as including accommodation, catering, recreating, transportation and visitors’ services.

By 2018, the report suggests, the direct contribution of T&T to Lebanon’s economy will rise to $2.3 billion, or 5.2 per cent of total GDP, and in a broader sense, including indirect contributions, T&T will contribute $7.5 billion - 17.1 per cent of the country’s GDP.

www.wttc.org