BEIRUT: Amid a backdrop of rising hotel occupancy levels over the past few years and increasing revenue per available room (revPAR), Lebanon’s hotel sector and wider tourism sector are reaping the rewards of thriving performance. Although statistics for 2010 point to a slight downward trend in hotel occupancy, Deloitte Middle East’s analysis points to the potential for further robust growth.

According to statistics from STR Global, in the year to date at end August, Lebanon’s hotel occupancy level stood at 64.4 percent, registering a slight decline of 5.8 percent over the same timeframe in 2009.

“This year the holy month of Ramadan fell in August, prompting Arab tourists, one of the traditional mainstays of Lebanon’s high summer tourism season, to return to their home countries. In light of this, the fact that hotel occupancy for the first eight months fell by a mere 5.8 percent, can be taken as a positive sign for Lebanon’s tourism sector,” said Joe al-Fadl, Deloitte partner in charge of the Financial Services Industry in the Middle East.

In the previous two years hotel occupancy had been on the rise, increasing from 53.5 percent in 2008 to 69.1 percent in 2009, according to STR Global. These statistics reflect the era of stability in Lebanon’s previously tempestuous political and security situation.

“With hotel occupancy maintaining consistency over a period of several years, Lebanese hoteliers have been able to successfully increase average room rates,” said Fadl. “This resulted in revPAR of $136, representing a growth of 11 percent for the year-to-August 2010,” he added.

Lebanon’s tourism industry is a large contributor to the country’s GDP, placing it among the most prominent in the Levant region. In terms of employment, tourism contributes a large percentage of the total workforce. While tourism’s contribution to the country’s GDP is expected to witness annualized growth of over 5 percent during the period 2010 to 2020, employment is expected to grow at the rate of 3 percent per annum over the same period.

“In the coming years, thousands of rooms will be added to the hotel’s capacity, as a result of the projects under construction,” reiterated Fadl.

“Through the expected increase in hotel supply in Beirut in particular and Lebanon in general and the effective marketing and promotion campaigns to promote tourism at a regional and international scale, Lebanon will be positioned as a leading tourist destination while securing continued performance growth within the hospitality sector,” he concluded.