Tensions in the Middle East have severely impacted Lebanon's key tourist city of Saida, leading to a significant drop in business activities, according to local vendors and officials.
On October 8, 2023, the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah launched a barrage of rockets towards Israel in solidarity with Hamas's attack on Israel the day before. Israel then retaliated by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon.
Saida, located on the Mediterranean coast, is a key tourist destination for international visitors to Lebanon.
The city's Old Souk, a traditional market that extends along narrow, vaulted streets, which once bustled with foreign tourists, sees few overseas travelers these days, with many shops closed or reporting a plunge in business.
"We have been greatly affected. This year's turnover is only 20 percent of what it used to be. There are no tourists this year. In the past, there were many tourists from Iraq, Egypt and Europe. But this year no one came," said Mohamad Hallak, a vendor in the Old Souk.
"The streets are empty a lot of the times, and especially when the bombing is very close to Saida or even in Saida. We have a population of almost 280,000 in Saida and the surroundings. It's paralyzing, in fact, living this on and off war in the south," said Hazem Badih, the president of Saida Municipality.
Badih said that since 2019, Lebanon has been in an economic crisis and central government funding has shrunk rapidly. The Hezbollah-Israeli conflict, which has lasted for 11 months, has made the situation even worse, he noted.
He said he is gravely concerned about when the conflict will end and when the town will see displaced people return to their homes and tourists in the streets again, bringing business back to the shuttered shops.
Hezbollah-Israeli conflict hits Lebanon's tourist city
Hezbollah-Israeli conflict hits Lebanon's tourist city
