Damascus, (SANA) – Tourist arrival in Syria during the first seven months of 2010 marked an increase of 56% compared to the same period in 2009, the Ministry of Tourism stated.

A report issued by the Ministry shows that Arab and foreign arrivals from January to July 2010 amounted to 5.7 million compared to 3.66 million during the same period in 2009, marking an increase of over 2 million.

Arrivals through land crossing points marked the highest increase, with 4.8 million in 2010 compared to 3 million in 2009 marking an increase of 1.8 million and a growth rate of 59%, while arrivals through airports amounted to 891,534 compared to 632,706 in 2009 with an increase of 258,828 and a growth rate of 41%.

Arab, foreign and expatriate Syrian tourists during the first seven months of 2010 amounted to 5.16 million compared to 3.33 million in 2009, with an increase of 1.83 million and a growth rate of 55%.

Of these tourists, 2.9 million are Arabs, with 1.34 million foreign tourist and around 912,500 expatriate Syrians, while one-day transit visitors heading to Lebanon or Turkey amounted to 1.07 million compared to 919,900 in 2009.

The Ministry said that this growth in numbers is due to canceling entry visas with Turkey and Iran and the promotional campaigns carried out by the Ministry during the past two years.

Among the Arab tourists that visited Syria, the biggest increase is among Lebanese tourists with an increase of 85% and Jordanians with an increase of 87%.

Regarding foreign tourists, the biggest increase was among Turkish tourists with an increase of 170%, Iran with 117%, Germany with 21%, France with 27%, Italy with 38%, England with 19%, Spain with 23%, Netherlands with 28%, Greece with 11%, Russia with 14%, Australia with 24%, and China with 81%, with European tourists in general marking an increase of 88%.

Damascus and Damascus countryside was the most popular tourist destination, with around 2.325 million tourists, followed by around 878,500 tourists for the northern region, around 826,800 tourist for the Syrian coast, around 671,800 for the central region, around 310,000 for the eastern region, and 155,000 for the southern region.

In terms of accommodations, the rates of staying in hotels between January and July 2010 amounted increased by 35%, with around 710,760 nights compared to around 526,000 nights in 2009. The average periods for staying in hotels for tourist groups amounted to an average of 5.13 nights per tourist.

H. Sabbagh