Tourism in Lebanon
Lebanon recorded a total of two million tourists in 2019, ranking 70th in the world in absolute terms.That smaller countries regularly perform lower in a comparison of the absolute number of guests, is obvious. By putting the tourist numbers in relation to the population of Lebanon, the result is much more comparable picture: With 0.35 tourists per resident, Lebanon ranked 75th in the world. In Western Asia, it ranked 8th.
In 2020, Lebanon generated around 2.37 billion US dollars in the tourism sector alone. This corresponds to 10.24 percent of its the gross domestic product and approximately 3 percent of all international tourism receipts in Western Asia.
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Back to overview: Lebanon
Development of the tourism sector in Lebanon from 1995 to 2019
The following chart shows the number of tourist arrivals registered in Lebanon each year. Anyone who spends at least one night in the country but does not live there for more than 12 months is considered a tourist. Insofar as the survey included the purpose of the trip, business trips and other non-tourism travel purposes have already been excluded. The number of people passing through within the same day, and e.g., crew members of ships or flights are also not considered tourists in most countries. If the same person travels in and out more than once within the same year, each visit counts again.Data in the chart are given in millions of tourists. The red line represents the average of all 18 countries in Western Asia.
Revenues from tourism
In 1995, tourism revenues amounted to 710.00 million USD, or about 6.1 percent of the gross national product. This corresponded to about 450,000 tourists at that time and roughly 1,578 USD per person. Within 25 years, the country's dependence on tourism has increased drastically. Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, sales were $8.72 billion billion, 16.78 percent of gross national product. Thus, each visitor spent an average of $4,503 on their vacation in Lebanon.In 2020, tourist receipts plummeted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the $8.72 billion billion (2019), only $2.37 billion billion remained. This is a 73 percent decrease in Lebanon.
All data for Lebanon in detail
| Year | Number | Receipts | % of GNP | Receipts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1.94 m | 8.72 bn $ | 16.78 % | 4,503 $ |
| 2018 | 1.96 m | 8.69 bn $ | 15.84 % | 4,427 $ |
| 2017 | 1.86 m | 8.09 bn $ | 15.25 % | 4,354 $ |
| 2016 | 1.69 m | 7.37 bn $ | 14.42 % | 4,368 $ |
| 2015 | 1.52 m | 7.09 bn $ | 14.19 % | 4,669 $ |
| 2014 | 1.36 m | 6.84 bn $ | 14.21 % | 5,044 $ |
| 2013 | 1.27 m | 7.03 bn $ | 14.99 % | 5,520 $ |
| 2012 | 1.37 m | 7.36 bn $ | 16.72 % | 5,389 $ |
| 2011 | 1.66 m | 6.80 bn $ | 17.02 % | 4,107 $ |
| 2010 | 2.17 m | 8.03 bn $ | 20.88 % | 3,702 $ |
| 2009 | 1.84 m | 7.16 bn $ | 20.22 % | 3,881 $ |
| 2008 | 1.33 m | 6.32 bn $ | 21.69 % | 4,739 $ |
| 2007 | 1.02 m | 5.80 bn $ | 23.35 % | 5,699 $ |
| 2006 | 1.06 m | 5.46 bn $ | 24.78 % | 5,134 $ |
| 2005 | 1.14 m | 5.97 bn $ | 27.77 % | 5,236 $ |
| 2004 | 1.28 m | 5.93 bn $ | 28.03 % | 4,641 $ |
| 2003 | 1.02 m | 6.78 bn $ | 33.77 % | 6,675 $ |
| 2002 | 956,000 | 4.28 bn $ | 22.37 % | 4,481 $ |
| 2001 | 837,000 | 837.00 m $ | 4.7 % | 1,000 $ |
| 2000 | 742,000 | 742.00 m $ | 4.3 % | 1,000 $ |
| 1999 | 673,000 | 673.00 m $ | 3.9 % | 1,000 $ |
| 1998 | 631,000 | 1.22 bn $ | 7.1 % | 1,935 $ |
| 1997 | 558,000 | 1,000.00 m $ | 6.3 % | 1,792 $ |
| 1996 | 424,000 | 715.00 m $ | 5.2 % | 1,686 $ |
| 1995 | 450,000 | 710.00 m $ | 6.1 % | 1,578 $ |
Our data on tourist numbers, revenues and expenditures are based on information from the World Tourism Organization. However, to ensure international comparability, the data for some years or countries were manually researched and corrected if they obviously included visitors without overnight stays. In these cases, the data were taken from the official communications of the respective national tourism authorities.
The World Tourism Organization additionally points out that in some countries, the number of tourists is only counted at airports, while in others they are also counted at border crossings or even hotels. A comprehensive and reliable indication is therefore hardly possible in any country.
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