The Association of Travel and Tourist Agents in Lebanon (ATTAL) held a press conference in partnership and presence of His Excellency the Minister of Tourism, Engineer Walid Nassar and the auspices of the Chairman of the Board and Director General of the Middle East Airlines, Mr. Mohamad el Hout, where the Association revealed its new and modern website: www.attal.org.lb

The event, which grouped a big number of officials and opinion leaders, Associations and Tourists Syndicates as well as ATTAL’s board and members, the press and the media personalities, was the chance to meet up after a long-forced absence due to the COVID pandemic, which affected the travel industry the most.

Opening the event was renowned media personality, Mr. Maurice Matta who stressed on the importance of Tourism in Lebanon and the wonderful opportunities Lebanese creative minds are launching, which is attracting a higher number of tourists every year as well as he thanked the MEA personnel for their impeccable service and devotion to the company, which is the gateway to the country.

Speaking first, the President of ATTAL, Mr. Jean Abboud declared: “Traveling is a two-way ticket. Our mission is to encourage inbound and outbound passengers, yet together with the Ministry of Tourism and the help of other Ministries too, we have succeeded in encouraging year on year, the local tourism by putting all the new players from boutique hotels, to guest houses and other revenue streams under the spotlight, pushing them to outperform and contribute in giving a great image of Lebanon”.

In her turn Mrs. Lina Sinno, the General Manager of ATTAL, confirmed that her number one mission since she joined the Association less than a year ago, was to construct and revamp the website, which is believed to be the gateway to any company nowadays. She also revealed the new campaign which aims at creating awareness around the non-accredited agencies, which can be a big scam to any travel project”. She added that the website is modern, responsive with a friendly interface and contains all the useful needed information to facilitate the travel experience.

The Chairman of the Board and Director General of the Middle East Airlines, Mr. Mohamad el Hout, highlighted the growing role the company is playing, especially in always bringing the latest equipment and services of the airline industry worldwide to Lebanon, despite the on-going turmoil and challenges of the past year, which are unfortunately, still perduring. He added that the MEA airlines have recorded a considerable growth of and welcomed new sets of planes which optimizes the fleet and elevates the on-board travel experience.

Closing the ceremony was H.E. the Minister of Tourism emphasized on the importance of the travel and tourism sectors in a country’s economy reiterating on the success of Lebanon’s recent summer campaign, “Ahla Bi Hal Talle”, which garnered a huge success and yielded considerable results, all of which was not possible if not the cooperation of the Travel and Tourism Agents in Lebanon. He thanked ATTAL’s President and Members for their relentless support to the Ministry, which both are contributing in elevating the country’s image abroad and internally.

The event was followed by an animated dinner and a prize tombola on an air ticket.

According to the World Tourism Organization, “global tourism suffered its worst year on record in 2020, with international arrivals dropping by 74%.” This pandemic-related travel shock cost the tourism industry a 1.3 trillion-dollar loss in export revenues. With the pandemic still ongoing, it has become obvious that these industries must learn how to adapt.