Excessively negative media reports about Lebanon are ruining the country's image, according to caretaker Tourism Minister Avedis Guidanian, who said he has tried his best during his tenure to show Lebanon in a positive light.
REFORMS REQUIREDWhile he touted his record promoting Lebanon's image abroad, Guidanian said the country needed serious administrative reform to make its touristic potential a reality.
According to Guidanian, the Court of Audit took months to audit requests for cash to be dished out to tourism operators, by which time the season was over.
Tourism currently constitutes 8-10 percent of Lebanon's GDP, he said, while the target is 20 percent.
To keep on this positive trajectory, Guidanian said Lebanon would have to move away from an unstable reliance on wealthy tourists from the Gulf to new markets: China, Russia, India and Europe.
THE SYRIA QUESTIONIn a move that seemed out of the scope of his job as tourism minister, Guidanian traveled to Syria in September, along with three other Damascus-aligned Lebanese ministers, to attend the Damascus International Fair.
LOOKING TO THE FUTUREGuidanian said his one regret from his term as minister was working on international tourism at the expense of domestic tourism.
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