BEIRUT, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Tony Ramy, president of the Syndicate of Owners of Restaurants in Lebanon, announced on Thursday that material damage to the tourism sector are valued at around 1 billion U.S. dollars following the two huge explosions rocked Beirut on Tuesday.
"We have lost our lifetime investments," Ramy tweeted.
Meanwhile, Pierre Ashkar, president of the Syndicate of Hotels Owners in Lebanon, told Xinhua that direct and indirect losses may even be more than 1 billion U.S. dollars.
He explained that direct losses include destruction caused to hotels, while indirect cost covers the inability to pay salaries of employees or to attract tourists to the country, which will definitely impact the tourism sector.
The tourism sector has already been suffered due to the nationwide protests that took place last year followed by the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.
Lebanon was hoping to attract tourists during this summer season amid an unprecedented economic crisis and financial collapse, causing an increased number of people to reel under poverty. Enditem
