Lebanon

Greater political stability spurred a surge in tourist numbers in 2009. In the first 10 months of the year, Lebanon attracted 1.57mn visitors, up 42.7% y-o-y. By the end of 2009, almost 2mn tourists may well have graced the country's shores. Average spending per tourist was down on previous years, perhaps owing to the reduction of purchasing power due to the global recession. However, this could also have been due to the country now becoming a more mainstream (as opposed to exclusive) destination for Arab and European visitors. As long as political turmoil does not return, we expect tourist numbers

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