Israeli blockade ravages Lebanon's summer tourism

BEIRUT, July 14: Bustling only last week with Arab Gulf visitors enjoying its outdoor cafes or strolling on its cobbled streets, downtown Beirut has been eerily silent since Israel's confrontation with Hizbollah spiralled.

Rows of restaurants and cafes were closed with their lights out yesterday evening, their chairs piled on top of tables.

Pricy boutiques are shuttered as tourists scramble to flee the country and those left behind hunker down for Israel's reprisals after the Lebanese guerrilla group captured two Israeli soldiers on Wednesday in a cross-border attack.

''The losses are massive. It's too early to give numbers but everything is pointing to very serious losses,'' Tourism Minister Joseph Sarkis told Reuters. ''It was shaping up to be a very good summer season ... Unfortunately, the season has been hit.'' Hizbollah's attack and Israel's air and sea blockade came at the height of Lebanon's summer tourism season, sending thousands of visitors, from Arab tourists to foreign residents and visiting expatriates, fleeing by car to Syria.

At least 15,000 cars bearing foreign number plates left Lebanon on Thursday through the main crossing point with Syria at Masnaa, Lebanese customs officials said, with hotels emptied of their guests in a rush of buses and taxis that created tailbacks on the main Beirut to Damascus road.

The few who have not left are stuck in Lebanon for the time being, with the airport closed by Israeli strikes, the ports blockaded by its navy and the international Beirut-Damascus road that winds through Mount Lebanon, bombarded overnight.

''I spent all day yesterday driving tourists from their hotels to the Syrian border. The hotels have been completely emptied,'' said one driver who works for a large taxi fleet.

FLYING OUT

In 2005, tourism was hit by the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri and Lebanese were hoping for a recovery this year. It almost came; arrivals to Lebanon were 24 percent higher in the first half of 2006 than even the bumper year, 2004. The crisis with Israel changed everything.

''The effect is 100 per cent. This is a tsunami. All the tourists have gone. The airport is closed. No one is coming and those who are here are staying at home,'' said Paul Ariss, head of the association of restaurant- and cafe-owners.

The Baalbek Festival, a key summer attraction, indefinitely postponed the sold-out concerts of Lebanese diva Fairouz. The rival Beiteddine Festival has also been postponed.

British Airways said it would schedule additional flights from Damascus over the weekend to serve stranded passengers.

Cyprus Airways chartered a flight to Damascus to pick up nationals stranded there after fleeing Lebanon. Lebanese who were abroad when the airport was hit are now unable to return.

Middle East Airlines flew five planes out of Beirut airport to safety in Amman on Friday morning after repairing a stretch of runway. Other MEA planes had been diverted on Wednesday.

''The US ambassador was able to get us clearance and guarantees that we could evacuate the planes without being hit,'' MEA Chairman Mohammed al-Hout told Reuters.

Those who have remained in Lebanon are largely staying at home, with many businesses closed and electricity rationed as fear of a prolonged crisis grips the country.

Alarmed families stocked up on water and food, with supplies flying off the shelves as fears mount that the Israeli blockade would not be eased any time soon. Trade has ground to a halt and motorists queue for petrol amid concerns of impending shortages.

''The sector cannot sustain these losses. Everyone is in debt from 2005 and had prepared for a better season this year,'' said Jean Beiruti, head of the travel and tourism agencies syndicate.

''This affects the whole economy, not just us, because the visitors we bring spend in shops, in cafes, and they are gone.'' REUTERS