Opinion Analysis by Tala Karkanawi, Staff Writer

June 24th, 2020

As the national situation on COVID-19 continues to allow for the State to ease restriction, lockdown measures, and facilitate the return to life as we once knew it, other problems are vividly rising in Lebanon. Rafic Hariri International Airport is expected to re-open on the 1st of July 2020 posing both opportunities and threats to the nation and its peoples. This is good news for some expats waiting impatiently to come back to their own homes and families. Vast numbers of people have high hopes that this may in fact bring in expat dollars into the country, most of which has not been entering for the past 3-4 months due to fears of capital control. In a country relying fundamentally on diaspora and expat renumeration. To what extent will the re-opening of Rafic Hariri International Airport will bring more good than bad, hopefully easing the situation on the Lebanese and Lebanon’s ongoing economic crisis is a both question and concern amidst uncertainty.

Lebanon is currently facing a critical economic crisis with the value of the Lebanese lira fluctuating for months now in its comparison to the dollar value. With an expectation of circa 50% of the Lebanese population living under the poverty line by the end of 2020, not to mention the pandemic that has taken over the world in 2020, many are suffering a great deal of pain and hardships. However, the issue with Lebanon opening its borders to the world is concerned just as much with the fact that the world still has its borders closed on us. Most of the EU countries currently have their borders closed to international countries, with some exception to some EU countries and nationals living abroad. Countries like Belgium, Spain, United Kingdom and France still have their borders closed to international countries with an expectation of their opening by mid-July or august, giving priority to international students studying in universities first.

The airport in Beirut will only receive 10% of the air traffic equating to almost 2,000 to 3,000 daily passengers, compared to last year’s. The Ministry of Tourism arguably wants to encourage tourism back in Lebanon claiming that visitors will not have to abide by the 14 days’ self-isolation, and instead, will have to conduct PCR tests instead as it is provided by the Middle East Airlines’ website. The entire process will be divided into two categories, the first category with countries that conduct PCR test and the second category with countries that do not conduct PCR tests. Visitors and tourists will have to abide by conducting a PCR test 96 hours before their arrival to Lebanon with countries that provide testing. However, countries that do not provide PCR tests, visitors will have to take the test once they arrive to Lebanon, and re-do it again 72 hours later. 

The situation of the dollar might attract many tourists, especially countries from the Gulf Area now that everything will be cheaper in their situation. An inside source has told the Phoenix Daily exclusively that “flights from Saudi Arabia and the gulf will be bombarding the planes coming to Lebanon”.  Lebanon’s COVID-19 situation, in comparison to other countries in the Middle East, is way enhanced. Having entered the stage of what the Minister of Health calls ‘gradual societal immunity’, the country is finally re-opening its  commercial complexes and enjoyable facilities, cafes, hotels and much more. This will hopefully attract tourism in the upcoming months. The officials are hoping that the country’s few cases of the coronavirus will attract other countries and boost Lebanon as a tourist destination this summer. 

In an interview conducted by the Daily Star with the MEA chairman, namely Mohammad Hout, the understanding of the critical link between national economic wellbeing and the Beirut airport is reiterated. Hour notes that  ‘the closing of the airport caused more than financial damage, and that there was a material and motivational setback that we, with the help of all Lebanese, hope to recover from soon.’  Lebanon is known for its beauty and wild nights, according to statistics from 2017, tourism in Lebanon is known to be 18% of the country’s GDP. So it is expected that re-opening the borders will provide a much-needed foreign currency into Lebanon’s deep economic crisis, especially with the Lebanese lira losing almost 60% of its value.

 Lebanon will be viewed as a great touristic attraction for the summer of 2020 which is what governmental officials are expecting.