Tourism

Walking through the winding streets of the Old City in Damascus, one cannot help but feel that they are at the crossroads of civilization in the world’s oldest inhabited city. The Old City, along with other historical and archeological sites spread out across the country, and the renowned friendliness of the Syrian people have the potential to make Syria a future hot spot for tourism in the Middle East.

 

 Suleiman Osman

Investor appetite was enhanced in the old city of Damascus, as a result of the grand success witnessed in transforming ancient mansions into restaurants, since the mid-1990s. The trend now is to transform these homes into boutique hotels, causing real estate prices in Old Damascus to skyrocket tenfold. Many of them have been abandoned for years; others were being used—until very recently—as storehouses. Restaurants in the old city now exceed 100, while the number of licensed hotels stands at 31, seven of which are already in operation. How did the ‘boutique hotel’ trend start?

 

 

Catherine Nelson-Pollard

Francois Waller is the current general manager of Sheraton Aleppo Hotel, the first international hotel operating in Aleppo. Having spent all of his life outside of his native Netherlands, at the age of 17, Waller knew he had the natural desire to travel and explore, and the curious mind to see the ways of the world. “I wanted to travel to many exotic places, as quickly as possible.” With a degree in Hotel Management from Lausanne University in Switzerland and fluency in five languages, Waller made his way to the world of hospitality and made his dreams come true, filling posts in exotic locations such as Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Oman, Egypt, Jordan and now Syria.

 

Alexandria, “the capital of memory” as described by British writer Darrell Lawrence, has experienced a renaissance since the 1990s, marked by the introduction of new developments such as the San Stefano Grand Plaza and the resurgence of old ones such as Bibliotheca Alexandria, helping the city to reestablish itself as a preeminent cultural destination for the 21st century. This was supported by the renovations made by the Egyptian government to the international airport of Alexandria.

How do you see tourism in Syria today?

Recently, and particularly over the last four years, tourism in Syria has started moving on the right track. The Ministry of Tourism has taken several important initiatives, such as granting visas at the airport, moving towards hotel specialization and rating, developing long-term and short-term plans, sponsoring exhibitions and investment conferences, and inviting a number of journalists and writers from different countries to visit Syria and write about their impressions. This is considered an excellent form of publicity. In addition, when compared to the past, the investment climate has immensely improved, and the market has opened up with the emergence of private banks and insurance companies. Approximately, 40 tourism projects should start operating by 2015. One of the characteristics of Syrian tourism is that it last for a long period; for nearly seven months annually. In April-May, September-October, tourists come from Europe, Asia, and the United States. Whereas in the summer (June-July) tourists come from all over the Arab World. The occupancy rate at hotels in Damascus in July-August, for example, reaches 100%. At the end of September 2007, occupancy rate at 5-star hotels was at 75%. Despite all of these encouraging signals, Syria is yet to catch up with tourism development and needs time to build an integrated and developed tourism structure.

I usually try to avoid a certain discussion, comparing the achievements of the Dubai government in tourism to those of Syria. This has become a recurring theme in the social and business circles of Damascus. I don’t think it is a valid comparison, for a variety of reasons, a basic one being that we don’t have as much money for investment as Dubai does. But let’s avoid Dubai for a moment, and look at Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, and even Lebanon.