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Lebanese Guesthouses Get Upgrade to Attract Tourists
FrontLines - August 2009
By Elias Alhaddad
Baskinta, Lebanon —In the hilly town of Baskinta, northeast of Beirut, stands a 100-year-old mansion, the Khoury Hanna Guesthouse. This family-owned business has become a major tourist stop, attracting local and foreign visitors especially during the spring season. Business is flourishing, as the full booking during June attests.
Over 1.5 million tourists are expected to visit Lebanon in 2009. Revenues—and the number
of visitors—are projected to increase more than four times by 2014 in rural areas along the Lebanon Mountain Trail (LMT), a 440-kilometer national eco-tourism hiking trail running north-south through the country.
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U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michele Sison (right) hikes the
Lebanon Mountain Trail with a small group from the U.S.
Embassy in Beirut.
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In anticipation of increased visitors, and in order to prepare for demand for increased tourist services, the historic guesthouse received assistance from USAID under a rural tourism program in October 2007. One year later, it had become an important lodging site along the LMT.
Khoury is one of 11 local guesthouses in rural towns along the trail that received support from USAID. With $29,000, Khoury’s owner remodeled the kitchen and guestrooms, built a new bathroom, installed a safety handrail on the exterior stone stairs, and glazed windows.
The makeover helped the guesthouse enhance the hospitality
services it offers and attract more national and foreign tourists
to the region.
“Without this assistance, we would not have been able to operate in this manner and attract so many people here,” said Michelle Khoury, 30, the guesthouse owner. “This assistance
brought back value to my grandfather’s house.”
USAID’s office in Lebanon led the LMT project, convening
four regional workshops for trailside communities, nature tour operators, and others to nail down the details. The entire 440 kilometers were delineated, test-walked, and mapped; 37 volunteers were trained on trail development; 132 kilometers were cleared and marked with local partners; and six trail diversions
were documented.
ECODIT, a U.S. small business
organization, implemented the project and helped establish and equip 11 guesthouses, one campsite, and three rest areas. Many town squares in towns along the trail were upgraded and a cultural park was built.
The project also generated promotional materials—including brochures, maps, a guidebook, and the Web site www.lebanontrail.org. An LMT association will be responsible for protecting and promoting the trail.
In addition, USAID provided hospitality management training and technical assistance workshops
to staff at 50 guesthouses throughout Lebanon. Owners of these guesthouses were trained to better manage their family businesses and provide quality
services to their customers. ANERA, a U.S. NGO, and Al-KAFAAT, a local NGO, carried
out the training.
Foreign tourists in the region have given the scenery along the trail rave reviews. In her native language, Sister Monic, an 85-year-old French tourist, said, “You have such a beautiful
country.” She had walked the 20-kilometer Baskinta trail guided by the guesthouse owner and was amazed by the beauty of the countryside.
Lebanese citizens are equally impressed: “There are some places where you just stand in inarticulate wonder and say, ‘Wow…this exists here!’” said Hana Hibri, a Lebanese woman who hiked the entire trail in
30 days.
USAID recently launched a new tourism campaign and Web site—www.beyondbeirut.com— which is expected to go online this September to provide tourists with information about rural sites and activities within Lebanon, helping to bring in additional sources of revenue to the guesthouses.
★
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