Boosting tourism from Beirut to Bahrain

Middle East/N.Africa — By Bob Riel on June 8, 2006 at 1:05 pm

Have an interest in traveling to the Middle East? The region has dramatic landscapes and friendly residents. So long as you avoid a few unsavory locales, it’s quite an interesting part of the world for travelers. Now, countries in that region are boosting their efforts to attract tourists.

The International Herald Tribune reports on endeavors by Arab gulf states, such as Qatar and Bahrain, to emulate Dubai’s success in becoming a tourist destination.

These oil-blessed lands are seeding their desert expanses with golf courses, Western-style luxury hotels, five-star resorts, commissions for celebrity architects and enormous luxury communities.

The Hong Kong Standard, meanwhile, looks at the efforts of Beirut to transform itself. The city was once known as the “Paris of the Middle East” and is trying to reclaim to its glory days.

During its 1960s and 70s heyday, Lebanon’s capital wore its “Paris of the Middle East” badge with pride, a prominent destination for the jet-set who descended on the stylish paradise of designer boutiques, cocktail bars, the famous Casino du Liban and the best in international cuisine. They loved the azure Mediterranean, the archaeological sites and the mountain resorts.

Finally, Saudi Arabia is revamping its visa rules to make the country more accessible to foreigners. That doesn’t mean a visit to that desert kingdom will be as easy as a trip to some other Middle Eastern countries, notes the Washington Post, but it will still have an allure for some travelers:

Anyone with an Israeli stamp on their passport will continue to be denied entry. Female visitors must follow local rules, including being covered head to foot, eating in restricted areas of restaurants and being accompanied outdoors by a male.

“It’s a limited market,” concedes Klaus Billep, president of Santa Monica’s Universal Travel System, who is considering arranging a trip. “Visiting Saudi Arabia is for clientele who have been around the world.”