European media report on the resurgence of the Syrian tourism industry

According to IRNA on Saturday, the Times quoted Syrian tourist attractions as saying that Damascus authorities had resumed issuing visas to tourists. In a decade of the Syrian civil war, it was possible to get a visa, but the Corona epidemic had stopped that process.

Travel companies across Europe have taken on the challenge of touring Syria by emphasizing Syria’s cultural heritage.

The German Deutsche Welle website also confirmed the start of European tour companies’ tours to Syria, saying: “Travel agencies say this encourages intercultural agreements.” Critics, on the other hand, claim that this means normalizing relations with the Syrian government.

Some European travel companies say it does not matter that Syria has been embroiled in a deadly civil war for more than a decade.

“After years of devastating war, Syria is now returning to a normal life not seen in the past few years,” said a travel agency in Berlin.

It is not only travel agencies in Berlin that are interested in sending tourists to Syria.

According to Deutsche Welle, in the past month, the British company “Lupine Travels” has added tours to travel to Syria in 2022 to its list of foreign tours. The N-Times Brothers in the UK also advises tourists to visit the country.

Clio, a company specializing in cultural tours in Paris, is probably one of the first European companies to start promoting travel to Syria in 2019, and has once again arranged tours to travel to Syria in 2022.

Apart from Europe, a number of tour operators in China and Russia have also recommended travel to Syria, and now a Chinese travel company called Yang Pioneer, which is known for hosting tours to North Korea, will book a tour for Syria in early 2022. Has begun.

However, the German Foreign Ministry has warned against traveling to Syria. A statement from the ministry, which was handed over to Deutsche Welle, said: “The German embassy in Damascus is closed and there is no possibility of consular assistance to German citizens in this country.

Tourism is a vulnerable source of income. Before the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, tourism accounted for 10% of Syria’s GDP. According to the World Bank, the country had 10 million tourists in 2010 and its international tourism value reached $ 6.3 billion.

Between 2016 and 2019, according to Syrian officials, the number of tourists increased from 1.04 million to 2.42 million, and it is not clear what share of them are Europeans.