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The port of Beirut after the blast. Mahdi Shojaeian. CC BY 4.0.

Following the Blast in Beirut, How Ready is Lebanon for Visitors?

September 9, 2020

The Aug. 4 blast in Beirut’s port devastated the city but also affected the entire country. Shock waves reverberated throughout the region, being felt as far away as Cyprus and Jordan. The cause was obscene negligence in the storage of ammonium nitrate, a component of many explosives, and the effect is 300,000 people left homeless, up to 220 dead, and parts of the city center in ruins. The scene harkens back to Lebanon’s tumultuous history of war and civil strife and effectively takes Beirut off the map in terms of international tourism.

This is all the more saddening given Lebanon’s storied history, vibrant culture and natural beauty. Lebanon has earned an unfortunate reputation as an unsafe travel destination due to its fraught political history and geographical proximity to war-torn nations such as Syria. Though a history of war still lives in the nation’s collective memory, most people view it as a piece of the past. Before the blast, Lebanon reported a record number of visitors, with just under 2 million travelers passing through in 2018 alone.

A cursory glance at the country reveals why. Though small, Lebanon’s landscape is astonishingly diverse. Its coastline holds balmy beaches and resorts, many started in the 1950s during the country’s first tourism boom. Farther inland, the Lebanon Mountains offer slopes for skiers of every skill level for a fraction of the cost compared to the Swiss Alps.

Hasroun, a village in northern Lebanon. Paul Saad. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Natural beauty is not the only wonder found in Lebanon. The Temple of Bacchus, one of the best preserved Roman ruins in the world, displays the full glory of Lebanon’s past, demonstrating the variety of influences it enjoyed due to its historical role as a Mediterranean trade hub. Arts events like the Cedars International Festival have drawn artists from around the world, including Shakira and Andrea Bocelli, with massive crowds in tow. Beirut’s nightlife alone was enough to draw thousands to its late-night parties with strobe lights, pulsing music and freely flowing liquor.

A concert in Byblos. Hisham Assaad. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

No longer. The blast damaged 2,000 venues in Beirut, many of them deciding not to rebuild. Months prior to the blast, the COVID-19 pandemic decimated the service industry, and a prolonged economic crisis which has endangered the lower and middle classes strained the balance sheets of nightclub owners. The explosion further compounds their plight. 

Equally bleak are the prospects for recovery. Rebuilding the city is estimated to cost $15 billion, a quarter of Lebanon’s GDP in 2019, and talks with the International Monetary Fund for a $10 billion bailout have led nowhere. The prime minister, along with most of his cabinet, resigned shortly after the explosion, leaving Lebanon in both physical and economic ruin with no leadership. The Lebanese dollar has lost 80% of its value while inflation has reached 112%. This has left thousands of people struggling or unable to buy food. The situation, by any metric, is abysmal. 

Lebanon’s tourism prospects are about as dire as those for its economy. Clearly, it is unwise to travel in the midst of a global pandemic to a country whose hospitals are already full. While tourism would pump much-needed dollars into the economy, it would be difficult to find food and lodging in a country not far removed from famine. Before travelers begin to think of visiting Lebanon, the country must rebuild. Only time will tell how long that process will take.


Michael McCarthy

Michael is an undergraduate student at Haverford College, dodging the pandemic by taking a gap year. He writes in a variety of genres, and his time in high school debate renders political writing an inevitable fascination. Writing at CATALYST and the Bi-Co News, a student-run newspaper, provides an outlet for this passion. In the future, he intends to keep writing in mediums both informative and creative.

In News and Social Action, Asia, Lebanon, Beirut, Global Politics Tags Lebanon, Beirut, explosion, tourism, history, landscape, Swiss Alps, nature, trade, nightlife, middle class, GDP, economics, Arts and Culture, War and Conflict, Travel, Asia
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Thailand: One Night in Bangkok

March 10, 2020

Nathaniel Connella shares the incredible diversity a traveler can experience with just one night in Bangkok, Thailand .

Tags Thailand, nightlife, Bangkok, diversity, Asia, CheckOut, Global Cuisine, Travel
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Tijuana is a popular weekend destination for American tourists. Author Unknown. CC BY-SA 1.0.

Death Toll Rises in Tijuana

January 22, 2019

A few miles south of San Diego lies Tijuana, a favorite weekend getaway for Americans. Some Californians have even taken to living in Tijuana permanently to escape their state’s rising housing costs. However, life in Tijuana has changed drastically over the last few years as conflicts between rival drug cartels have caused the city’s murder rate to skyrocket. The situation presents a new set of risks for those wanting to visit the ever-popular tourist trap.

In 2018, over 2,000 homicides were reported in Tijuana, an increase from the 1,647 homicides reported in 2017. Authorities attribute the bloodshed to warring drug cartels. The Sinaloa Cartel, formerly led by Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman arrived in Tijuana about 12 years ago and launched a campaign to usurp the resident Arellano Felix Cartel. The fighting has raged ever since, with visitors and locals alike getting caught in the crossfire. In November of last year, two San Diego teenagers and a friend from Tijuana were found dead in an apartment bathroom. The teens had driven to Ensenada for a barbeque and never returned. Authorities said they had been stripped and tortured before being shot execution-style. Police later announced that they had arrested three suspects in connection with the killings, but did not issue any further statements. The situation in Tijuana has intensified with the arrival of a migrant caravan from Honduras intent on entering the US. The migrants arrived in December but their entrance into the US was blocked by border patrol agents. The Trump administration, implementing a practice called “metering,” agreed to only allow a few migrants into the country per day, and the remaining migrants set up a temporary camp while each waited for their chance to cross the border. Later that month, three of the migrants were killed in an apparent robbery attempt when they left the camp to visit a sports arena near the center of the city. It would seem that no one is safe from the violence that plagues Tijuana.

Authorities say wars between rival cartels are the direct cause of Tijuana's rising death toll. Author Unknown. Public Domain.

Still, tourism is booming. Tijuana’s vibrant nightlife continues to attract visitors who are looking for a bit of excitement and willing to navigate the risks. Some nightclubs in the city have even started offering limousine rides to and from the border, as a means of ensuring the safety of their customers and, of course, the future of their business. Local authorities continue to mitigate the violence as best they can, but the warring continues, with no end in sight.





JONATHAN ROBINSON is an intern at CATALYST. He is a travel enthusiast always adding new people, places, experiences to his story. He hopes to use writing as a means to connect with others like himself. 



Tags Tijuana, Mexico, vacation, tourism, nightlife, death toll, violence
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