Tourist numbers in first 5 months fall by 6.66 %

The number of tourists visiting Lebanon reached 556,558 in the first five month of 2012, 6.66 percent lower than last year. The number of African tourists rose by 16.09 percent to 24,312 while the number of American tourists rose by 5.73 percent to 71,360. The number of visitors from Arab countries increased by 15.21 percent to reach 222,083, although the number of Asian tourists fell by 55.32 percent to 56,375. Similarly, the number of European and Australian visitors decreased by 3.37 percent and 4.17 percent to 165,120 and 16,687 respectively. In the month of May alone, the number of tourists declined by 0.88 percent to 119,698 compared to 120,764 during the same month in 2011.