BEIRUT (AFP)
Lebanese beach resorts that had invested huge sums for a promising summer season are now counting their losses with millions of dollars in damage inflicted by Israeli strikes and ensuing oil slicks.
“Our direct losses and the loss of earnings amount to $10 million because of the conflict between Israel and Hizbollah, and the subsequent oil slick,” said Roger Edde, owner of the Edde Sands resort north of Beirut.
The Israeli army launched a 34-day offensive on Lebanon on July 12 after the resistance group Hizbollah captured two Israeli soldiers.
The hostilities forced tourists to flee Lebanon, which had been bracing for a record summer season.
The Israeli military strikes also caused an environmental catastrophe on Lebanon’s coasts by destroying fuel tanks at a power station south of Beirut, unleashing 15,000 tonnes of fuel oil into the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
Dozens of international experts began evalutating the environmental damage caused by Israel’s offensive, according to the United Nations.
“We had to close for three weeks to clean the beach from the oil slicks which also evaporate, causing breathing problems, and activities have been slow since the September 2 reopening” of the resort, Edde said.
“From 3,000 lunches and dinners a day before the war, we are now serving an average of 30 meals a day,” he said.
Hussein Sharafeddin, owner of the Pangea beach resort south of Beirut, expressed the same grievances and has been forced to carry out massive lay-offs.
“Our losses amount to $2 million, we had invested a lot in order to offer Lebanese and tourists one of the world’s most beautiful resorts,” he said.
“We keep cleaning the sand and the sea, but the oil slick keeps coming back,” he said.
But Sharafeddin refuses to give up.
“We intend to continue to invest and we are considering building a hotel despite the (Israeli) threats which persist on Lebanon,” he said.
Edde is also optimistic. He decided to reopen after the end of the war in order to “keep the morale high” and continue to work on a new 2,500-seat conference centre.
But he has decided to freeze future investments until the situation is more stable.
“We want to see where the country is heading,” said the entrepreneur who invests millions of dollars in the tourism sector every year.
Last update on: 8-10-2006