Primetime with Walid Nassar(Lebanon’s minister of tourism)Haifa Charbel and Dr Joe Khoury, Episode 3
The year 2005, at the time of the big explosion and the martyrdom of Prime Minister Hariri, I left Lebanon and went to Saudi Arabia, and we are still in Saudi Arabia, you know that life is not just luck and opportunity. it is about knowing how to take advantage of the opportunities that encounter And I can say that I’m lucky, thank God I’m the only one who supported Byblos Club financially, and I raised Byblos Club from Division 5 to Division 1. do you expect a large number to arrive in Lebanon this summer? In my expectations, for sure, more than the year 2022, on the condition that there is security stability Those who go to a hotel and pay a lot of money. if they’re unable to afford it, they shouldn’t go we can say that we are lucky MEA has persisted throughout those two years Is there a way, a plan, for this innovative youth to reach something those whom we don’t want to leave with electricity problems and other problems because such things fight against innovation? When there are worries, they fight against innovation I mean Lebanon. Let's remain silent but because the Minister of Finance doesn’t have the right to send a letter and stop the activity of Casino du Liban unless it includes the signature of the Minister of Tourism, jointly and severally. I remember that day, I got more votes than the elected president.
Because now we need to talk about politics. I want to stop. Your excellency, welcome to Prime Time. Doctor, Garen, hey hello everyone hello hello hello Thank you, first of all, we want to thank you for accepting our invitation to Prime Time. Today, we would like to get to know you more, on a personal level, not just as a Minister of tourism. We know that you studied engineering yes we would like to know more about your career and how it began. We know you are a businessman in Lebanon and abroad
Where did you study Engineering? I studied engineering at Saint Joseph University, School of Engineering of Beirut and we graduated in times of war in 1989, meaning the local civil war that affected us all. then, I went back to complete my postgraduate studies in civil engineering in Paris. I came back to Lebanon, where I worked on myself and got hired first. The first salary I received was 900$, for a year, and I began to get promoted and I went back to opening a private company in Lebanon? Also, in Lebanon in engineering and the work has developed a little The year 2005, at the time of the big explosion and the martyrdom of Prime Minister Hariri I left Lebanon and went to Saudi Arabia. And we are still in Saudi Arabia Is the company still present in Lebanon? or only in Saudi Arabia? In Lebanon, it exists, but when I became a minister, I stopped all commercial activities in Lebanon and all our work is offshore abroad. Did you know that the prototype of this tower was designed by the minister? Perfect No, it wasn’t, but I contributed a lot to its development here in Saudi Arabia. Are the companies mainly engineering companies? Engineering, consulting, project management, holding trade conferences, event planning, of course with my brother Ziad. It is a family business,
and I moved from engineering to work in several different fields, how? Usually the engineer is an engineer who first starts studying engineering, gets hired, then says let me build a building or work on my own projects. How could you expand? Say no Let me be beyond engineering. Let me be in the fields of entertainment, event planning. Look doctor, it’s engineering Call me Joe Engineering is training. I mean, now if you see all the important sites, in banking and financial services you see all the CEOs. Most of them I mean, not all of them are engineers, but there is a large percentage of them who are engineers. I mean, you know that life is not just luck and opportunity it’s about knowing where to take advantage of the opportunities you encounter.
And I can say that I am lucky, thank God I struggled a lot, meaning nothing happened the easy way. I’m known for something I can work more than 15 hours per day it’s been going on for several years I don’t like to rest, I don’t like days off, they make me feel bored even if I have other things to do, but I like to work and be productive. The most important thing is productivity Everybody knows your love for your hometown, your love for Byblos, and you’ve been in Byblos Club, after that, you moved to… tell us about this experience When it comes to sports, I was in the Lebanese National Youth Team and you know Byblos Club was founded in 1982 in Byblos, and this is the year when it was founded. The club was indeed one of the most important clubs in Lebanon in terms of number, number of athletes and administrators. Remembering when I was elected, I was the youngest
The right to candidacy was 18 years old. At the age of 20 I was elected president of the basketball committee, and, I mean, you build on what happens in your life, and I remember that day, I got more votes than the elected president, and I was certainly one of the athletes in the Club, and I play all kinds of sports, but I focused on basketball. I also contributed to the development of the club, now Byblos Club. At the time we grew up a bit and became able to help and contribute. Thankfully, I humbly supported the club, I’m the only one who supported Byblos Club financially, and I raised Byblos Club from Division 5 to Division 1 that the competition was increasing a little . And we all saw the Byblos club when it reached the division 1
, it started to reach the final four, the semifinal. For several years . I went through… I was the president of Byblos Club, and I mean, sports are in my blood, and I came back to work as the president of the Basketball Federation, and the presidency of the Federation also came out of nowhere… just like the Ministry of Tourism By chance? It wasn’t by chance. it was a circumstance, I mean, it wasn’t a circumstance, you know you don’t choose these stories, nor are they imposed on you, but the course of your life and your work… It was also a nice period even though it was difficult. Lebanon was banned internationally, and I became responsible for a federation in debt of a million and a half dollars, and there were many problems between administrators and clubs.
what I did, and this is what all the athletes in Lebanon and I remember, is that ever since I was appointed president of the federation, I went three times to Geneva within a month, to FIBA, and lifted the bans imposed on Lebanon. Sorry, why were there bans? Because of politics. politics interfered in sports Okay There were problems, and this contradicts the international laws of sports and federations affiliated with the World Olympic Committee. We lifted the bans and held tournaments in Lebanon, and tournaments for all age groups, for division 1 – men and women, and we participated but we didn’t achieve, many results, because players hadn’t been training for many years, it wasn’t given much attention, but now we see, today the basketball team has reached the world. It’s true And we fully support them, even the women's team Do you still follow and provide support? Of course, sure. Especially yesterday, concerning the approval to grant citizenship to the foreign player of the federation. it was supported and discussed during a cabinet meeting, and we took the decision. If we didn’t do this,
I think Lebanon wouldn’t have been able to win the first game I’ll tell you a funny story that’s out of context. in 2008, my brother, my friends and I watched the World Championship that took place in Izmir, Turkey. I don’t know if you remember Certainly If you take a look at all the advertisements on LBC, concerning basketball and Lebanon, and all the cheering Did you appear with them? You can see L E B A N O N; I was last N because I was the tallest You were holding the N too We wrote them here L E B A N O N. We were wearing white shirts.
we won the first match against Canada, then we lost, but it was a very nice experience; a country like Lebanon reached the World Cup very nice experience I want to ask a small question, I don't know if back then when you were in basketball, I mean in FIBA, or after that, there were talks about the Super League, among Arab countries, that it would be similar to the Champions League Right It was during, can you tell us what happened why didn’t it work out, will it happen again? I’ll tell you, the Super League, many types of competitions take place in basketball outside the laws of FIFA, sorry FIBA, the International Federation Okay The Super League was a side competition, which means the points that do not count in FIBA. Also, back then, we tried to work on it, but it didn’t happen because my mandate, I completed the mandate of a resigned president. My mandate was two and a half-three years, and therefore we did not have time to do all those things and the situation was a little delicate in the country From engineering to business administration, to basketball, to the Ministry of Tourism, how did everything add up to the Ministry of Tourism? I mean, how were you able to invest all this expertise in the Ministry of Tourism in Lebanon? Let me tell you something Haifa, the basis in any ministry or the public sector is management, to transfer our expertise from the private sector to the public sector, to transfer it and to know how to do so, because it is the management of the human staff, meaning the employees in the Ministry of Tourism first, and to know how to work, meaning in tourism, especially in advertising, to come up with ideas. Here I would like to point out something very important, because we know in Lebanon the excuse that any minister has, especially in the small non-sovereign ministries, is that there are no credits. There is no funding I do not believe in this theory. I believe that correct management and the establishment of smart and sustainable projects are what build trust and attract funding, and this is what we did.
Ever since I took office, all the projects that the Ministry of Tourism carried out were in partnership with the private sector and didn’t cost the State treasury at all. Never. when I leave the Ministry take a look at the statements from the financial department within the administration, you will see that not a single Lebanese pound was spent on the projects we had carried out, and this is what makes you special. I mean, the easiest thing you can do is to give someone a budget, that if he can work properly. I mean, the challenge is not to have any budget, but to have an important product that you can build on, and what is better than tourism in Lebanon? a country that has four seasons and all the components on which you can build sustainable and circumstantial projects.
And this is what we did throughout this year and a half. It was. There was a booming last year in Lebanon, and the campaign was also very sweet and won an award “Ahla bhal talleh” Right Let's see some of the video, Garen On it who came up with the idea for the video? We did this in partnership with Live Love Lebanon Okay But of course, I don't want to say the management, but the ideas and all that, it was me How beautiful is Lebanon I mean, they are highlighting the best things in Lebanon This campaign “Ahla bhal talleh”, can we talk? Sure, let's… Which brought more than one million and seven hundred thousand tourists to Lebanon during summer, and made a net gain of $6.4 billion, won the best promotional campaign for tourism in Arab countries in Berlin by the Arab Media Organization, the best promotional campaign for tourism in the Arab Tourism Organization, and this is what we are really proud of Of course From this point on, I am saying that you have to gather the competencies that exist in Lebanon, when you set an action plan and have a vision and a goal to reach. I think everything is easy Are you expecting a big number of people to arrive in Lebanon this summer? I expect them to be more than they were in 2022, only if there is security stability. I do not want to talk politics because we are used to it,
and Lebanese are stubborn, so whoever loves Lebanon will come no matter what happens, and this is what is shown, I mean by numbers, and if there will be security stability, I think summer will be very promising Before I pass to your question Joe, I would also like to add something since we are talking about Ahla bhal talleh, you have been subjected to a lot of criticism after the Ahla bhal talleh ahla, you added ahla, didn’t you have more creative ideas? Look, yes, honestly, this happened without consulting the company that helps us for free, TBWA. I was once on TV and I talked about it spontaneously, because I considered two ideas. first, when a campaign like Ahla bhal talleh somehow wins a global prize, an Arabic one, we should build on it, and because summer ended quickly, and due to the many problems in Lebanon, it passed briefly and didn’t get much attention.
I decided to duplicate it, complete it, and add to it the word “Ahla” “Ahla Bhal Talleh Ahla”. We benefit from the campaign we made, the visual work, and all these stories that we worked on, and “Ahla Bhal Talleh Ahla” seems nice. Yesterday, TBWA send me a deck, and the visual work will be prettier than the slogan.
Eventually, in life, as they say in English, you have to think smarter, not harder. so, we think a little bit more, because the easiest thing to do is to ask a company to create a new slogan Anyway, there is no bad advertising, on the contrary, it has spread, rumors have spread a lot Good publicity and people will still find something to criticize People will criticize you no matter what 100% I always say it, especially when it comes to politicians, we agreed not to talk about politics, but we always say it in closed conversations and on TV. Those who criticize successful people or institutions and hinder them are failures or failed parties, and the ones who encourage successful people to succeed; this is culture. and I think those are two cultures; in society, in business, at work, in public affairs, successful people didn’t scare me, on the contrary, there wasn’t any jealousy, I wasn’t jealous, successful people were a challenge to me, and I should work and become successful like them for us to compete on success. This is how society develops. However, if you want to hinder successful people and spread fake news about them to make them fail, you will fail before them, and they will go on. it’s true. You’ll waste your time This is what happens in Lebanon with most people. It’s called positive envy
It’s true If you look up to a successful person, you’ll want to do better than him Of course, this is an honorable competition There are two ways, whether you try to hinder them in their field, or you aim to become better maybe if you try to hinder them, you might succeed, but it will be a very short-term success It’s true But at the end of the day, a successful person is a successful person Concerning tourism and the campaign “Ahla bhal talleh ahla”, we’re witnessing an era of change, everything is shifting toward social media. I’ll propose something, I don’t know if, the thing about influencing and influencers has surely circulated among you, especially worldwide. Here in Lebanon, one can influence us from the US or India. we look at what they eat, the top places they visit, Montgolfier, Cappadocia balloons, things like that, and Iceland waterfalls, and we get excited without anyone telling us to visit Iceland. Why isn’t there a plan that consists of bringing Mark Wiens for example, the food blogger, to check out restaurants in Lebanon, or a travel couple Nas Daily Nas Daily, to be able to bring him. So, we gather influencers in Lebanon and tell them that we will let them live the best experience in Lebanon,
they will provide indirect marketing to the whole world, who will envy them and wonder where they might eat this platter Let me tell you something; as you’ve said, Joe, social media is the basis now. it’s the most important platform to promote and highlight any activity that takes place. in Lebanon, last year in 2022, we thought about, I was offered a project to bring bloggers, they sent me their CVs, around 8 or 9 bloggers from all over the world, so I would bring them. I was ready to bring them and handle the tickets and the hotel, and organize the program for their trips to Lebanon. But I’ll say it again, the main obstacle was instability in Lebanon. that’s how foreigners think, that they're coming to Lebanon, even though they’ve all contacted us and they’d love to come to Lebanon. I have this idea in mind, I hope we’ll be able to do it again.
within the same context, the Horeca Exhibition took place three days ago, we brought 20 Lebanese chefs, 3 of whom are international. For example, you have Anthony Maalouf who came, sorry Bachour, from the US, and Alan Geaam from Tripoli, who was awarded the Michelin Star, he was the second person to get one after Greg Maalouf. and another one, Antonio El Khoury from London, who’s a Harrods chef, in Harrods in London. those three came, and if you check them out on social media, they have millions of followers. we were able to create a movement around them, and I honored each one of them.
This falls within the context you were talking about, culinary tourism, meaning in the field of food, because Lebanon is known for its food. In other tourism sectors, many foreigners are visiting Lebanon, and bloggers, and popular people, notably from Arab countries and Europe. We’re not able to follow up right now and pay attention, because sometimes we know from social media that x is in Lebanon, they don’t like to get in touch with Lebanon, I repeat, because tourists who come to Lebanon don’t trust ministries, they come while maintaining a low profile They spend their stay, for example, today, you know the Rocco Forte group, the one that has the Hotel de Russie, Plaza Hotel. today, Rocco Forte, Rocco’s son, son-in-law, and brother, all three of them are in Albergo Hotel, we are not advertising the hotels, but they’re in Lebanon and no one knows about them. I offered to welcome them because someone like that, he’s an investor all over the world, they like to come very secretly and get their things done, I think they attended a wedding.
I’ll say it again, stability in Lebanon is the foundation, unfortunately, we live in a country divided in two, there are two mentalities, there’s a malicious mentality, which only consists of bothering and criticizing without giving any solutions, and tries to disrupt and cause damage, and there’s another mentality, of all classes and categories, and it’s diversified, it’s not limited to one place. Those are the people who believe in Lebanon, its power, and its capacities, and works, but I mean, how do you say that we are going against the current, there are and they work. As we say, we are going against the wind. Many people are like that. This is what harms Lebanon. Let’s hope they make up their minds and work objectively again and in solidarity As long as you’re working on these tourism campaigns.
Today, we hear from foreigners that come from abroad, even Arabs that arrive in Lebanon, that we have the most expensive flight tickets to Lebanon, and the most expensive hotels, even during the crisis, hotels were expensive, restaurants are expensive, life and tourism in Lebanon are way more expensive than elsewhere Let me tell you something Haifa, you’re one of those who travel, live abroad, and you have a tourism institution. Lebanon, I always say it and I’m criticized because of it, and I always say, just like when I dollarized the sector and allowed all tourist institutions to fix prices in dollars and get paid in Lebanese pounds, they made a big deal out of it, then they followed our lead but in the wrong way unfortunately, to work maliciously. One has to give his opinion honestly. Lebanon’s features, culture, people, civilization, and all of the components we’re talking about are due to its geographic location, where the country is located. this country has everything. so, the tourist that visits Lebanon can eat and have fun in McDonald’s, eat and have fun in a mid-level restaurant, and visit luxury places. the same thing applies to hotels. As for guesthouses, for example, we’ve found a syndicate for guesthouses.
it includes now more than 150 members. it’s the same for guesthouses, some guesthouses have invested millions of dollars, others in 100 thousand dollars, and those who visit have all options. . however, those who can’t afford it… you know how Lebanese people are Show-off and luxury Those who go to a hotel and pay a lot of money, if they’re unable to afford it, they shouldn’t go, they should go somewhere else.
In a restaurant, if they want to eat seafood or fish, they don’t have to… some restaurants offer delicious food, they’re almost like tents with straw and bamboo chairs, and breathtaking seating. The bill is very acceptable compared to elsewhere, we compare to the neighborhood, and we compare to Europe. I don’t think this theory is fair and correct One can have a specific budget In Lebanon, all options are available, and that’s a beautiful feature. However, to the ones who would like all of Lebanon to be cheap, but no, we say no, sorry, this isn’t one of Lebanon’s features, Lebanon isn’t cheap wherever you go. all options are available Is it okay if I talk about a personal experience, my own opinion last year, uh, amid the crisis, maybe before? You could find hotels. I’m not talking about it. I’m talking about Lebanon. Lebanon has everything and as you’ve said. there are guest houses you can go to,
but when you go to a hotel for example. I’ll give the example of Dubai. France is way more expensive. We’re not going to talk about France because the square meter in France, in Paris, is very expensive, so hotels have to be very expensive. You go to Dubai, you go to a resort to a very big hotel, a huge one. I’m going to give numbers, for example, $150, $180 per night. You come to Lebanon to a hotel, of a lower standard.
You pay 250 to 300$. To the Lebanese person who wants to go to a hotel, he can do so. I’m talking about foreigners who want to come and visit Lebanon because a hotel isn’t enough. He’ll have to pay for the hotel, the restaurant. Joe, I can guarantee you. Since you’re talking about foreigners, we have statistics we have. Statistic data.
This is a topic I’m very careful about. I can guarantee you that foreigners who come to Lebanon find Lebanon one of the cheapest countries. we’re only talking about foreigners.
And there’s a thing. This thing about comparing ourselves to Dubai. Let’s get that out of our heads. We’re way back from Dubai. Let’s stop comparing ourselves to Dubai. Is it possible for Lebanon to be more expensive? If it’s not about being more expensive, I’m talking about lifestyle and if a foreigner wants to come.
You are extremely right. We are way back from Dubai. I’m not talking about Dubai. I’m talking about I’m comparing because I travel to Dubai. But I’m telling you the prices. now you gave me a price of 150. I’ll say it again Take le Méredien Hotel as an example There are hotels in Beirut for $50, $70, and $100.
They are not a standard. But I’ll say it again, how many people live in the UAE, Dubai compared to the expats there? they are 10 times more than foreigners. Okay This is why the purchasing power is way higher.
Here, it’s the opposite. Of those two million that came in 2022, 25% of them, 500 000 of them, were foreigners. They can be Lebanese who hold foreign passports, and there were 1 million and a half Lebanese. This is our Diaspora. When this diaspora comes to Lebanon, whether they have a house, their parent’s house, their brother’s house, or they go and stay in a guest house or hotel. I believe I’ll say it again. Some people say that it’s expensive. I tell them, honestly look. I’ll tell you something. When they say a hotel,
for example, they go there and post on social media the bill of I don’t know how many millions Didn’t you check the menu before? It’s not only about. checking the menu first. You didn’t check the menu. Second, it’s not about the menu. Don’t you hear that the standard or average price of this person is this much? third, and the most important thing is that this place that you say is expensive stays full for three months. Personally, as a minister, I know friends who come sometimes from abroad. I call the restaurant anonymously. I don’t say I’m an ex-minister. I’ve never done this in my life. I call them to see whether they have an empty tale or not. They don’t have any. This is before I talk to the owner so he doesn’t keep on reminding me of the favor. So, they’re always full. So, if the restaurant is full and is working with these prices, why would you want to lower the prices?
No no, not at all, I’m talking, I’m just comparing Especially, I’ll tell you something, today there are many reasons, the operating cost in the tourism sector and tourism institutions is around 30-35%, and a big part of this 30 - 35 % is the fuel price. if this person opens for 3-4 months, those seaside touristic resorts open for 3-4 months, should he send his employees home for the rest 6 months? Doesn’t he want to work on maintenance? renovation? Doesn’t he want to make improvements again? If he benefited in those 3 months to cover the winter season, let it be It’s true No no, of course, businesswise you’re right I consider this theory unfair. I won’t say, today there are exceptions, there are exceptions everywhere Of course But in general, according to the price range in all tourist institutions on every level, I find it very good We talked about hotels what about MEA, the tickets, the things that happen compared to other airlines, what do you have to say about it, as a company? My opinion as a company In terms of prices First of all, yesterday, we had a meeting, two days ago, the public works committee, the parliamentary committee. There’s a weakness in the advertisement of low-ticket carriers. Second of all, if you want to book a flight after 4-5 months, you get the cheapest ticket, just like any airline in the world. But Lebanese people, because the situation in Lebanon is not stable, they always book at the last minute, in this booking, the passenger is paying the price. But today you have options, you have all international airlines that come to the region, Turkish Airlines, and all of the GCC Qatar Airways Charters should be advertised Charters should be advertised more, and don’t forget a very important thing, MEA is just like any other airline, post-COVID, big companies, Air France lost billions if it weren’t subsidized by the government, it would have closed. Alitalia closed, it was sold in Australia too
it was a global crisis, all over the world, and it has caused airlines losses. we can say that we are lucky MEA has persisted throughout those two years. I don’t want to further discuss specific characteristics, meaning what MEA is doing in Beirut International Airport, and with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, and its direct contribution. perhaps it’s their patriotic duty, but to say that tickets are expensive without justifying and explaining to citizens isn’t quite fair. It’s true. I want to talk about something since I consider myself someone who travels a lot, MEA in terms of services is perfect, especially with everything that’s happening in the country. however, the airport. Lebanon has developed a lot, but for tourists to come, there are many obstacles, the lack of employees, the long waiting at the General Security checkpoint When it comes to the airport, we won’t talk about politics but about development.
Development, sure First, when the cabinet was formed, I’m part of the ministerial committee for the Qleiaat Air Base, Rene Mouawad Air Base, it was established in the end after we started to work on some things in the ministry. It’s like a ministerial committee, but it is only written on paper, that it’s a ministerial committee. I don’t know if you follow me, Joe, but a little bit in the media, I raised the topic, that Lebanon should have two airports True There’s Beirut International Airport, and there’s another airport that should be a cargo and charter airport It’s true We have two very important places, one of which could be used for charters and cargo by a political decision. The presence of another airport in Lebanon is essential, just like an expanded administrative decentralization, which is at the heart of the National Reconciliation Charter of Lebanon that we all call for, and it’s in our constitution, we’re not inventing anything.
A second airport is essential. That’s first. Second, Beirut International Airport, today the parliament has issued a law in August 2022, you know since you’re traveling to Dubai tomorrow, you bought a ticket, there’s something called departure tax. The Lebanese State is taking $3 from every person who leaving Lebanon, $3 in fresh, which is transferred to the State treasury in the Ministry of Finance to an account specific to the Bank of Lebanon, fresh money. According to the law, 20% should be deducted from this amount, don’t underestimate it, last year we submitted it If millions are coming $380 million Okay 20% of them, do the math how much is it? this amount should be transferred to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. With this money, the DGCA can do the cleaning and the maintenance, fix the belts, and respect the main standards so the passenger coming in and out can do so with dignity and in the right way. we visited Beirut International Airport last Thursday; we visited it with all of the people concerned and MEA with the ones concerned.
I’ll say it again in a very humble way, I raised this issue and I care about it. I don’t want to talk about politics, but I’ve asked the Minister of Public Works to boycott the cabinet session if the Lebanese State doesn’t pay this 20% because the problem in Beirut International Airport is money, they are the right of the DGCA, not of the Ministry of Finance that wants to distribute them at its pleases and pay the public sector, half of which are I don’t want to say lazy, but half of them at home, and employments are random and political. no. Beirut International Airport is the portal to every arriver and newcomer to Lebanon, this is the only portal that has the right to take this money. there are $22-23 million expected, with $22 million Joe you can fix all the counter, arrange all the tunnels linked to the plane, because I won’t accept that, summer is almost here, that this money specific to the airport is spent elsewhere. It’s for the airport and it shall be brought back to the airport.
this is the first. second, do you remember the bid that took place Correct This is also a priority at Beirut International Airport. What’s our priority? to expand the airport according to the master plan, as per a decision taken by the cabinet years ago, or to carry out maintenance and ameliorate the current airport? what’s better? Maintaining the first Perfect. to maintain the airport and be able to develop it,
like we did with Duty-Free, we carried out a bidding, an auction, and a company won it. Now, if you go to the Beirut International Airport, you can see the company has started to restore the Duty-Free area. We have the fast track, which started a long time ago and stopped now, if this fast track is fixed, 20% of business class passengers can go down, and it will be organized Just like in other countries It’s impossible that someone pays for a business class ticket and gets treated like economy class, why is he paying more? Beirut International Airport is my daily task.
what’s more important is that the Ministry of Tourism, in partnership with the private sector, gave a makeover to the visual media that you see in the airport. Yes, we’ve seen them We made publicities, cleaned and arranged everything with modest capabilities, we organized a bit, even the security forces, where they stand, how they welcome people. we still have the problem with airport taxis. I’ve been told there’s a political ban in this regard, I’ll have to do my best to try to work on taxis try to work on taxi taxi taxi It depends on whether he speaks Arabic or English Taxi, with a blink Cars that arrive at Beirut International Airport should be organized to transport the arrivers to Lebanon. the cars should at least be air-conditioned, clean, and well-arranged, to reflect the civilized side of Lebanon. the guys should also organize it They should be trusted too Organize it guys Your excellency, I’d like to ask about something that has caused a lot of confusion.
A while ago, you closed hotels and restaurants in Jounieh. There are two points of view in this regard. As a Minister of Tourism, what’s your point of you to make such a move? first, because I don’t play along. I collaborate within limits, and I’m always by the investor’s side. if we want to abide by the laws, 70% of tourism institutions will close, but I support the investor. I always stand by him, especially in these conditions, within limits, we he starts to harm society. If those institutions in Maameltein had been closed and organized a long time ago, we wouldn’t have gotten to this point. but it was, I don’t want to talk about former ministers, I mean everything that happened before including playouts,
and waiving consideration. I’m not like that. This is Jounieh, Maameltein-Ghazir area, it’s the best sea area in Lebanon. It’s Lebanon’s Southern France, from Jounieh to Casino du Liban, its people, and citizens, this isn’t the culture they deserve, the one we should support. the touristic institutions that I have closed and sealed, you can’t know what happened afterward, but I insist on keeping them closed, until the Municipality of Ghazir, the Municipality of Jounieh, and we find a masterplan for the region, which we’re working on now so that Keserwan seaside becomes the same again, just like it was before, at our parent’s time. It’s impossible that if I’m coming back from Byblos to Beirut and there’s traffic, I don’t drive through Maameltein at night out of fear, or I’m ashamed to pass by there, so people don’t say x’s car is here.
The region has become…This isn’t Keserwan nor the coast of Keserwan It doesn’t reflect the right image Not at all I want to ask a couple of questions; we’ll make it a quick round. let’s put aside the situation in Lebanon and consider that Lebanon is in a good security situation, there’s stability. We’ll talk about the fields available in tourism and your perspective, and we might do, briefly, to develop and strengthen it. For example, as a plastic surgeon, cosmetic surgery tourism in Lebanon, I think it’s the best country for cosmetic surgery tourism. I was in France No no it’s true In terms of price, its price is very competitive for surgeries, I’m talking about plastic surgeries And the doctors here In terms of quality It’s true It’s true It’s the best. I don’t want to talk about neighboring countries, when you find a lower price, the quality is poorer, in another country the quality is poorer and the prices higher.
how can we achieve this… I know that 90% of the people who come to undergo plastic surgeries are expatriates, they’re people from abroad and are more than the ones residing in Lebanon. From your perspective, what might be the solutions or the things to support it? Cosmetic surgery tourism, when it comes to the people who want to come to Lebanon on purpose for this sector, isn’t implied in tourism as tourism. the doctors here are competent and work abroad in Arab countries and the syndicate, it’s known that their number is quite significant.
I don’t want to go through their competencies because we hear, you know, but here in Lebanon, we have to provide them with an infrastructure, what is it? beauty centers that we can highlight more, and a polyclinic for this matter, not clinics everywhere, a polyclinic in each region. But, all of them should fall under one big banner, which is a wellness center Perfect Meaning that if I want to undergo plastic surgery, I come to Lebanon, then I rest in my house if I have one, if not, I go to the hotel. when you establish a center or a resort that includes those clinics. this encourages cosmetic surgery tourism. this is the foundation, and I have raised this matter to many owners of resorts in Lebanon, by the sea or in the mountains, so they try to establish not only a spa as a form of leisure but also a medical spa a center, a medical spa. This is the foundation. We have recently contacted MP Farid Al Boustani
to transform Deir EL Qamar Governmental Hospital into a medical center for surgery matters and other types of cosmetic surgery tourism. We talked about it but we didn’t follow it up properly. I’ll say it again, Lebanon can grasp all of these ideas and all of these projects.
My answer to you is that you have to establish resorts in Lebanon, and in beautiful regions, where, for example in Bekaa, Aamiq, a beautiful region, so those who go there Can rest To undergo their surgery, rest, and then do their tourism It’s true In terms of recovery, leisure, the countryside There’s also privacy, this is very important too Like abroad, so we don’t name anyone and advertise them Do you want to pass to something else? I want to talk about religious tourism Let’s go To see if religious tourism is being advertised Of course I know in Karkha, next to Jezzine, maybe thousands of people are arriving In Karkha, it was among the projects that I had inaugurated back then Saint John Religious tourism in Lebanon is sustainable. you might open a hotel today, and change its name, close it, open it, and sell it years later. However, a religious site is a religious site, you can’t change its name.
what we’re trying to do now, we’re trying to put in place a unified map for all of Lebanon with the religious tourism sites across the Lebanese territory, include religious monuments and sites on the religious tourism map, and link it with abroad. As you know, Lebanon, it’s our second accomplishment in the ministry, Lebanon is now a member of the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe, and this Council has 35 members. Lebanon is the only non-European member of this Council. the 4 cultural routes are the Phoenicians’ Route, the Routes of the Olive Tree, the Iter Vitis Route, and the Routes of El Legado andalusí. We’re now working on the fifth road; the Silk Road. Lebanon passes by these four roads, and we’ve carried out many activities related to wine tourism, and hopefully very soon in Ammiq, we haven’t fixed a date yet, but we’re going to arrange the longest wine-tasting table in the world in Wetland Ammiq, in the plain,and it will be certified by Guinness. we will gather, it will exceed approximately one thousand meters, we will gather, there are 67 wine producers or suppliers in Lebanon, they started with 10 companies in 2011, there was a very active minister in 2011-2012, and he’s behind this success of this sector and he made it happen, even though he wasn’t a Minister of Agriculture, we’re not advertising anything. 67 producers/suppliers
will be gathered, in addition to the Mediterranean Sea countries, which are part of this Wine Route; France, Italy, Spain, Cyprus, and Greece. They will bring international marketers, and we will organize a competition for the best table set-up, and it will be a tall table surrounded by artists, painters Sculptors, musicians Musicians etc., and it will last for two days, the one thousand and one nights Haifa and I will be invited of course Definitely, you’re the most welcomed Who knows maybe I’ll create my own wine line until them and participate as a supplier I’m going for the tasting Garen has a question, he’s wanted to ask it before H.E arrived Let’s go Go ahead Regarding a type of tourism Your excellency, we have in Lebanon one of the best casinos, why don’t we build a five-star hotel next to the Casino so high rollers and wealthy people come from abroad to play the game they love? Garen, Casino du Liban is a perfect touristic hub and facility, and the Lebanese State granted it an exclusive concession for gambling. The casino isn’t only about gambling, it includes restaurants and the Salle des Ambassadeurs in which events are held.
When you say casino, it’s not just going and playing poker, as we say in slang Arabic. Roland Khoury, CEO of Casino du Liban, has set up a plan for his mandate when he took office, what he wanted to do, and we all know how much this guy is pure and competent. Then came COVID for two years. All of these sectors were affected. We’ll say it again, Roland was able to work from nothing with the Board of Directors, and he was able to introduce reforms at first to Casino du Liban.
I’m talking a lot about casinos, because as a Minister of Tourism, I don’t have a mandate, but the State represented before Casino du Liban by the minister of finance and the minister of tourism, jointly and severally. you’re talking about hotels, there are lots of hotels in Jounieh, there’s no need for Casino du Liban to build a hotel I’ll add something to what Garen said because I think we come from a generation that has quite followed poker. why don’t we organize a global poker tournament in Lebanon, since we’re part of this world, Casino du Liban is among the oldest casinos in the Middle East It’s become online now, BetArabia Let me tell you something, I’m not sophisticated when it comes to my hobbies It attracts tourists I’m not sophisticated when it comes to my hobbies and what I like to do in life, but gambling and cards aren’t my thing. I can tell you, not because I’m a Minister of Tourism, I’m a man who travels a lot, never in my life have I set foot in a casino. for me, I don’t know. my friends laugh at me, there’s nothing wrong if you go there, there’s no shame in it, I don’t want to be misunderstood, but I don’t enjoy playing cards and going to the casino, I’ve never done it. I don’t know I truly don’t have an answer to that
Now there’s BetAraia, anyway, let’s talk about this, we’ll also talk with CEO Roland Khoury, he’ll be our guest, and we’ll talk with him more about online gaming. I participated in the tournament, the first tournament Did you win? no, I don’t, I only participated. my boss played with my mind Sleiman this issue online especially online, since you’re talking about it As you know, in 2008, the Lebanese State granted Casino du Liban an exclusive right to display these activities, including the ones held online.
then in, excuse me it was in 1995. then in 2008, it determined the games that could be held by Casino du Liban as activities. Now in 2023, a contract was signed between the Lebanese State, represented by the ministers of tourism and finance, and Casino du Liban, to display online activities that have started. you can all see in the media the immense battles taking place. It reached the point where the Minister of Finance sent a letter to Casino du Liban forbidding it from conducting this activity and stopped it until the Public Procurement Authority and the Court of Audit issue a decision in this regard. I don’t know if you follow, but we’re talking about politics The website is still available Let me tell you why it’s still available, because the minister of tourism spoke in the news and asked Who? Ah you Me I almost believed it I Spoke in the news because no one was hearing us, maybe they like to hear our voices not only read what we say I spoke in the news and asked Mr. Roland Khoury and the Board of Directors not to adhere to the Ministry. the minister of Finance’s letter and it’s nothing personal. I’m friends with the Minister of Finance, but he doesn’t have the right to send a letter and stop the activity of Casino du Liban unless it includes the signature of the Minister of Tourism, jointly and severally . so, they guys have to, we have to work according to the Constitution, the laws, the fundamentals I urged Roland Khoury, Roland Khoury submitted to the Ministry of Finance and the Court of Audit a complete file that justifies why Casino du Liban has the right to conduct this activity But the big problem is that I didn’t talk about it, I didn’t say it, I’ll mention it here with you, we saw on one of the TVs the other day a report concerning the black market It’s true And the black market, here’s the problem, in the black market Websites There are many websites This estimated income of $150 million per year, 50% of it is transferred to Casino du Liban and 50% to the Lebanese State. Correct
Do you know what $75 million means? What’s worse than that, is that the Ministry of Finance has been sending letters to Casino du Liban for 4-5 years about where they’re at with online gaming, and then it sends a letter to stop it Pressure comes afterward not before Neither Roland nor I work under pressure, we’re known for that This matter will go on and it won’t stop until the Court of Audit issues a decision in this regard. We believe in the judicial system and we believe in the Court of Audit when the Court of Audit asks Casino du Liban to close, we’ll ask Roland to, even without asking Roland anything Roland will close because he’s someone who abides by the law He’s a lawful man, yes And if the Court of Audit says he has the right to presume the activity, but in parallel, country officials must keep an eye on the black market which is causing social problems It’s causing losses to the State and is causing social problems among the youth in Lebanon they’re drifting towards online because it isn’t monitored, whereas Casino du Liban is monitored, did you enter and play? I don’t know, but it seems to be monitored I registered; it’s monitored. No, we registered No, I did You register, and you add your name and your age, there are conditions So, this whole online thing is a war between an association that works according to principles, it’s called Casino du Liban, and the black market Let’s talk about another field, skiing in Lebanon Top How can we make it You need a season Yes, we need a season. How can we make more people come? I’ll tell you; I’ve done a very beautiful thing. when we went to Doha two months ago, and it was named the “Arab Tourism Capital” by the Arab Ministerial Council for Tourism. While we were there, I spontaneously made a statement, it was ttaken into consideration before, to nominate Oyon El Siman
Faqra region in Lebanon, meaning Mzaar – Faqra, to be the Kfardebian region, the Arab Winter Tourism Capital Now, we’ve started working on it with Faqra Resort, Mzaar, and Kfardebian Municipality, and we’ve gone a long way. This will be one of the topics I will be discussing with the chairman of the Arab Ministerial Council for Tourism in Dubai the nomination of, not the nomination, we’ve already nominated it, it’s about, because in the Middle East with all due respect to Arez region which is very beautiful, what’s it called, to Zaarour, there are many skiing regions in Lebanon but no one can deny that the region of Oyon El Siman, Mzaar, and Faqra is the best for winter tourism, not only for skiing, winter tourism in everything. even in summer , because you know with climate change in the world and Lebanon, winter tourism isn’t only in the mountains and summer tourism on the coastline winter tourism is available now in the mountains and on the coastlines, and summer tourism and activities also take place in the mountains This is an answer to your question; how to revitalize, you can’t but highlight the regions a year ago, when the village of Bkassine was named one of the best tourism villages by the Arab, World Tourist Organization Now if you go and ask the civil society in Bkassine and Jezzine district, you’ll see how much tourism has increased in Bkassin, thanks to this nomination. you build on it. Let’s hope we’ll be able to work Perfect Hopefully. let’s talk about the E-motor show; the E-motor show is back, tell us a little bit more about it Of course. the E-motor show, the problem is that the Ministry of Tourism doesn’t have enough time to sponsor different projects and some ministers are getting mad at me
because for example if industry, we say it’s industrial tourism, in cultural, we say it’s cultural tourism, everything is about tourism. the E-motor show used to happen every year. During the two years of COVID it stopped in Lebanon, but now it’s back under a new title “E-Motor Show”, which means electrical vehicles And I think after 10 days or 15 days, an E-motor show will take place in a very developed and new version this is a very important matter, as we all know for sure, most importantly on the ecological level. There’s also cost efficiency, today electrical vehicles can drive up mountains within short distances in Lebanon. and we’ll say it again like he’s just said, we need charging stations Stations Those multiply with the number of cars that will increase, and eventually the owners, the car dealers Are interested in having charging stations It’s not about being interested, without those stations, they can’t drive That’s because if someone wants to charge his car from home, it’s a bit difficult I have a question because I know you’re sponsoring a lot of projects in Lebanon, but I also know that besides traveling a lit, you travel a lot when you leave Lebanon, how much difference do you find? do you say it’s better in Lebanon we can’t benefit from it? I always say that in Lebanon we have regions that are more beautiful and better but we don’t know how to benefit from them like abroad They might have a small land, or a small mountain, and they benefit from it to the maximum, in activities, images, tourism… As for us, we have everything and we sometimes don’t benefit from it Look Haifa, to be honest, when I became minister I discovered Lebanon more meaning internal tourism and the development of regions in Lebanon. There are regions in Lebanon, for example, yesterday in Ammiq plain, in Wetland the landscapes, you’ll think you’re in Switzerland. I used to say like you traveling was very hard for me, coming back to Lebanon it’s somehow hard, somehow not. it’s hard because I’m leaving this beautiful and relieving country, and of course, I’m happy that I’m coming back to Lebanon
. this feeling has eased a bit, I travel and see beautiful things, etc., but I no longer see things way more beautiful than in Lebanon There isn’t anything more beautiful, they just benefitted more The beauty of nature, but they have a system, they abide by laws development, the love of, citizenship, the love of their region, and a developed infrastructure The most important thing is the infrastructure I want to clarify something, I was asking about, I don’t want to be misunderstood here in Lebanon, we have places way more beautiful than abroad, but abroad it might be less than in Lebanon, but they benefit more from it meaning in marketing, it’s usage… This is management If you take the example of some villages in Lebanon; where they used to be and where they are now, ten years ago you notice their development. Some say why has this village surpassed us? If you see clearly, there are only two criteria. The first is management meaning the ones who value the village whether they are politicians, influential MPs and the municipality administration, if they get along and work together on something good The second is the infrastructure. It can easily be sold when you screen the land and establish an infrastructure
However, if you screen it and there isn’t any infrastructure, it won’t be sold E-sports, which are booming with the tournaments held. We’ve passed from basketball to football, to normal sports, to tournaments that are happening in gaming and stuff In Riyadh for example, in Saudi Arabia, they decided to support this, to organize tournaments in Neom do we have this vision, to attract tourists to organize e-sports competitions in Lebanon? Look, first of all. we have to differentiate; you mean e-sports, not betting sports No, not sports betting, I mean gaming Okay, gaming is a field, a very big field, I mean take a look at the richest people in the world, Microsoft, Apple, Instagram, Facebook When they integrated games within their platforms, you can see at the fortune they made Joe, you need someone to sponsor this sector, and who’s more eligible to sponsor it than the Ministry of Administrative Development, which is the closest to every e-thing Okay You need someone to sponsor it. I’ll say it again, we’ve tackled many points, we said if only this and that could be developed, do you know how to fix this? How? through the appeal that I have launched three times on the cabinet table on several occasions: to establish a Ministry of Planning in Lebanon. a Ministry of Planning
When you establish this ministry, just like any other developed state, this Ministry will receive all kinds of activities that can be done in the world and it will look through the distribution of these activities and which ministries are competent in which part of the activity, and it will be able to plan and organize this activity, the activity will have an owner Any activity or idea that you want to develop in Lebanon will have an owner whom you can hold accountable and ask about the activity. This is the Ministry of Planning. When it’s established, 5-6 useless ministries will be eliminated, those who are based on benefits, sectarianism, regionalism, or whatever you want, and are an expense to the State, a waste and close all funds, the Council for Development and Reconstruction, the Council for South, and the Council Fund for the Displaced. There shouldn’t be any of those anymore. They’ve emptied the state, plundered it If we’re still going to add money to these funds, we’ll never get done with it. I think they’ve stopped now; they can’t continue anymore
. Remove the funds, remove those, establish a Ministry of Planning, link all ministries and State administrations and take a look at the result. of course, you won’t see results immediately but at least you know that you have a specific goal and a roadmap. For the project to be implemented, in e-sports, it’s very important to achieve something. Second, in e-sports, you know who creates the games they scout in universities and schools Right Start-ups They search and see who are the geniuses to create games and to support them, they bring up those innovators and they put them in a specific cell in those big companies that contribute to the development they don’t involve them in the IT, but in the ideas. They’re good at that in the Far East China, Malaysia, Singapore, etc. they’re better at it than Americans In Lebanon, many people have this hobby and they have the competency Let me remain silent, because now we need to talk about politics. I want to stop.
My cousin specialized at Holy Spirit of Kaslik in something that was called gaming engineering, he persisted for two years, but no awareness was provided so people would specialize in it It’s very important, it goes along with technology it was 20 years ago maybe. yes, it goes along with technology question because we don’t want to keep you waiting any longer. You have a background in coding, according to what we know, you’ve done training in Eureka and took certificates, is it right? It is. For Lebanon to be able to establish start-ups since one startup is equivalent to Lebanon’s budget times 15 We eventually need an infrastructure. We’re not going to repeat the same conversation we’ve had, but is there a way, a plan, for this innovative youth to reach something
those whom we don’t want to leave with electricity problems and other problems because such things fight against innovation? When there are worries, they fight against innovation is there a plan to further develop coding and start-ups? In this regard, we know that there’s a private sector and many private companies, mainly Berytech They’ve worked on startups, and there were TV programs, there was a contest on ideas for start-ups, and they would win a prize Correct, to choose a person First of all, this needs awareness among the society and in. support And the support doesn’t have to be financial. I’ll say it again, as I said at the beginning of our conversation money can easily be provided when there’s an idea backed by a plan A vision And a vision, then you do a return on investment. If you tell an investor that you have 10 start-ups that cost $1 million
if he studies it well, and there’s someone who’s planning and implementing, he’ll day I’ll pay %1 million now and earn $5 million in five years For example, my son graduated, he studied industrial engineering, and he’s started to In Lebanon? In LAU? In LAU, and now he’s studying entrepreneurship in London Perfect It’s been two years since he launched a start-up, I won’t say its name so I don’t advertise it No, say it, of course, it’s not an advertisement, it’s a pride It’s not an advertisement He launched a start-up; he established a platform that links clients to freelancers, it’s called Connect task Okay You can check it on Instagram, it’s a very nice platform In which field does the platform operate, sorry to ask Ihe platform provides services from freelancers to clients and users Any service Whatever you want. If you want to design a logo for Prime Time, you subscribe as a client and receive requests from freelancers, and you make a deal with them online. It’s very nice It’s interesting He hasn’t made much progress in it, because he’s busy with his Master’s degree. but in Lebanon, in universities, there are start-ups, there’s a very important topic that might interest you since you’re in the field of production . A couple of months ago, I launched Cinema City in Lebanon I’m working on it, can I explain, do we still have time? Of course Of course, we do Cinema City, we want to establish a Cinema City in Lebanon that’s similar to the Cinecitta in Rome They’re studios, outdoor studios that are built. Some producers Just like in Hollywood, the way they’re divided into hangars
Yes, Hollywood, but a small Cinema City in Lebanon. it’s a Lebanese Cinema City I’ve prepared the land, the land is ready Where will it be? Next to LAU Byblos, because it has to be somewhere near facilities because if we bring from abroad, there are those drama series, etc. that some private companies produce in indoor places or rent places Cinema City will be, every producer, starting from you Mister, every producer in Lebanon will own shares in it, they’ll be partners. I’ve established a system, the structure of Cinema City shall have a return to the Board, of course as a company, and the producer, the photographer, the lighting technician the actor, and the artist, all of them will benefit from it and will be partners It's nice. People come to watch and encourage them to come up with something new Yes, it will be a school for producers. I launched a competition
among all universities in Lebanon that include architecture Okay We originally launched the competition and gave them a deadline, and they will start to submit their work. The winner will eventually get a very important prize The best design will be adopted, this project will be implemented on this land with this design, and I am of c
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