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A new tourism programme has been launched aiming to promote 'responsible tourism' in Lebanon by providing a network of inns and hostels in the rich heartland of the country.
"While virtually all travelers to Lebanon take advantage of Beirut's nightlife or the city's shopping districts, only a handful venture into the country's rich heartlands to discover the different ways Lebanon is lived by the people of its varied regions," said Mona Fares, director of promotions and development at Lebanon's Ministry of Tourism.
"The 'DHIAFEE programme' seeks to develop tourism in Lebanon that is both ethical and sustainable while striving to minimise the negative side effects that tourism can create in a globalised world.
"The guiding principle of the programme is 'responsible tourism' - respecting and preserving local culture, tradition and heritage; increasing and distributing the benefits of tourism to the local population; minimising the negative environmental, social and economic impacts of travel; and, perhaps most importantly, ensuring meaningful connections between visitors and hosts."
Borrowing the Arabic word for "hospitality", DHIAFEE supports small, family-owned hotels, guesthouses and bed and breakfasts - together dubbed Cottage Inns - in realising their full business potential.
With funding from the United States Agency for International Development, American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA), working in tandem with the Lebanese Ministry of Tourism and Al-Kafaat Foundation, has reached out to 47 off-the-path cottage inns spanning all of Lebanon which have the allure, but not the means, to become highly enjoyable and successful destinations.
These accommodations are relatively small in size (three-30 rooms), have proper facilities such as hot water and western-style bathrooms, and are safe, welcoming places to stay located in areas of Lebanon still steeped in the country's original culture and traditions.
To entice the public to discover these low-cost, high-quality cottage inns, ANERA took a two-pronged approach to the problem, involving capacity building on the one hand and marketing support on the other. With technical expertise from highly qualified consultants and schooling from Al-Kafaat Foundation, the programme worked with the owners of the Cottage Inns to enhance the quality of services they have to offer.
It also entailed designing and printing brochures for the cottage inns, launching a one-stop, collective website and engaging tour operators to secure a sufficient flow of visitors.
Against a backdrop of on-going political tensions in Lebanon, the region and beyond, the DHIAFEE programme has pioneered a model of tourism which draws from Lebanon's well of untapped potential to see the visitor, the cottage inn, and the country profit from an experience not to be found in any standard hotel - regardless of the number of stars.
