Tourists from the UAE and Kuwait followed contributing an equal 12 percent of the total money spent. Tourists from Egypt came third in terms of money spent contributing 7% of the total figure followed by visitors from Syria who accounted to 6 percent of total tourism spending.

Beirut received the largest share of money spent by tourists over the period at a rate of 80 percent. The Metn Region came in second place receiving 15% of tourists’ money followed by the Keserwan region which attracted 3% of the total figure. The Baabda region came last receiving only a 1 percent share of money spent by tourists.

Tourism spending was concentrated on clothing and fashion which received 67% of total spending. The remaining share of the money was spent on watches (11 percent), home and garden (5 percent), perfume and cosmetics (4 percent), souvenirs and gifts (3 percent), consumer electronics and household appliances (2 percent), and electronics and IT (1 percent), showed the figures.

According to the report, spending by Syrian tourists registered a notable increase of 71 percent over the ten month period, spending by Egyptians rose 40 percent while Saudis increased their spending by 36 percent. French tourists however tightened their budgets reducing spending by 13 percent. Money spent by visitors from the United States also dropped by 12 percent while visitors from the United Arab Emirates reduced spending by 2 percent, the figures show.