BEIRUT: Lebanon posted the sixth steepest decline in tourist arrivals worldwide in 2011, with a 24.4 percent decrease from the previous year, according to preliminary figures issued by the United Nations World Tourism Organization.

In comparison, tourist arrivals grew by 4.4 percent globally, by 5 percent in advanced economies and by 3.8 percent in emerging markets. Also, tourist arrivals dropped by 8 percent in the Middle East and fell by 12 percent in North Africa.

Arrivals grew by 6 percent in Europe, expanded by 5.6 percent in Asia and the Pacific and rose by 4.2 percent in the Americas, while they remained unchanged in Africa, according to the figures, which were reported by Lebanon This Week, the economic publication of the Byblos Bank Group.

Globally, Lebanon’s fall in tourist arrivals was higher than those of Tonga and Jordan with declines of 17.4 percent and 15.7 percent, respectively, and lower than those of Japan and Tunisia with decreases of 29.1 percent and 30.7 percent, respectively.

Regionally, Lebanon posted the fifth steepest decline in tourist arrivals, coming ahead of Jordan that posted a decline of 15.7 percent in tourist arrivals, Palestine (-11.6 percent) and Israel that posted growth of 0.6 percent, Morocco (+1.6 percent), Turkey (+8.9 percent), the UAE (+9.6 percent), Cyprus (+10.2 percent), Oman (+12.9 percent) and Saudi Arabia (+82.8 percent). Lebanon was preceded by Tunisia with a drop of 30.7 percent, Bahrain (-32.7 percent), Egypt (-33.2 percent) and Syria (-41 percent).

In parallel, the WTO said tourism receipts in Lebanon totaled $8 billion in 2010, up by 18.3 percent from 2009 and constituting the sixth highest growth rate in the Arab world and the third highest when excluding countries with tourism receipts of less than $1 bln.

Lebanon ranked in 34th place globally in terms of tourism receipts in 2010, behind Croatia ($8.3 bln) and ahead of Indonesia ($7 bln), while it ranked third regionally behind Egypt ($12.5 bln) and the UAE ($8.6 bln).

Furthermore, tourism expenditures in Lebanon totaled $4.7 bln in 2010 compared to $4 bln in 2009. Lebanon ranked in 39th place globally in tourism expenditures in 2010, up from 41st place in the previous year. Lebanon ranked ahead of Finland and behind Turkey in this category.

Figures issued by the Tourism Ministry show that the number of incoming tourists totaled 1,655,051 in 2011, constituting a decrease of 23.7 percent from 2,167,989 tourists in 2010 and compared to an increase of 17 percent in 2010.

The number of Arab tourists contracted by 22.5 percent year-on-year, tourists from Europe declined by 2.1 pct annually, those from Asia dropped by 46.5 pct, tourists from the Americas decreased by 17.8 pct.