ONE of Lebanon’s premier resorts used its ‘very successful’ participation in World Travel Market (WTM) to announce an extensive refurbishment for 2010.
Alain Chatel, general manager of Mövenpick Hotel & Resort Beirut, said: “The World Travel Market is an event of significant importance to us as it brings together stakeholders of the international travel industry under one roof; it is a great opportunity for us to promote Lebanon worldwide.
“As Lebanon has experienced an unprecedented tourism boom this summer following a long period of ongoing political stability, we have seen a tremendous growth in the number of incoming travellers, which reflected positively on the occupancy rates.”
Maha Bourachi, director of sales and marketing, told TTN: “We had a very successful WTM with meetings back to back during the four days.
“Due to our offer of ‘off-season’ rates for Ramadan in 2010 we have had interest and even confirmed bookings from European buyers. A new market that has shown interest at WTM is the Danish.
“The 2009 summer finished with full occupancies with a mix of GCC and European guests.
“By year-end 2009, Lebanon will have had over two million visitors, up 48 per cent on 2008.
“European buyers are now placing Lebanon back on the map. Tourism represented 28 per cent of the GDP this year and in 2010 will provide more than 439,000 jobs with all the new hotels opening.
“Mövenpick Hotel & Resort will undergo renovations from March to June 2010 with all-new rooms, new equipment and the latest state-of-the-art equipment in the health club. No other health club in Lebanon will have such up-to-date equipment. We also have one of the best spas in Lebanon in our Essential Spa.”