by Dana Halawi
BEIRUT, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Hiba Osman, a Lebanese pharmacist in her 40's, dreams of traveling to Europe, but her dream is far from coming true as her salary was devalued by over 90 percent following the collapse of the Lebanese pound amid the current financial crisis.
"My employer pays my salary in local currency, which makes it extremely difficult for me to save a proper amount of money in U.S. dollars to pay for my ticket and hotel expenses," Osman told Xinhua.
To make things worse, Osman added, foreign embassies do not accept proof of old bank accounts from Lebanese travelers to apply for visas, but they ask for fresh U.S. dollar accounts to prove that travelers can fully cover their travel expenses using dollar funds.
"Another problem is that I am not allowed to withdraw any of my savings from the bank in light of all the heavy restrictions on cash withdrawals," Osman said.
Lebanon has been facing an unprecedented financial crisis amid shortage of dollars, causing a collapse of the local currency which prompted banks to impose heavy restrictions on cash withdrawals in U.S. dollar and Lebanese pound.
Commercial banks are currently unable to pay back depositors' savings in dollars that were used, for years, by the Central Bank of Lebanon to intervene in fixing the exchange rate of the local currency, creating a big hole in the financial system estimated at around 70 billion U.S. dollars.
This unprecedented crisis forced Lebanese to prioritize their spendings on necessities such as food, medicines and education, while changing their travel patterns.
A majority of the Lebanese now resort to staycations by visiting domestic destinations where they can pay for their activities in local currency, while others who have better financial means travel to Turkey or Egypt, compared to other destinations in Europe.
Dana Temsah, executive director at Tala Tours, a travel agency in Beirut, told Xinhua that the demand of the Lebanese for travel packages dropped by around 50 percent compared to a level before the economic crisis began in October 2019.
In the past, people with limited income preferred traveling to Turkey for three to four days at the price of 500 U.S. dollars when the dollar was equivalent to around 1,500 Lebanese pounds, she recalled.
"This is not the case anymore as 1 U.S. dollar is equivalent to 27,000 pounds today, which forces most travelers to think twice before exchanging their local currency into dollars to pay for their trips," Temsah said.
"Only those who have income in U.S. dollars are capable of applying for visas to Europe and covering their expenses in such destinations," she said.
Another factor affecting demand for travel packages is the absence of travel loans by banks, according to Temsah.
"People used to take travel loans from banks ahead of the crisis or use their credit card points to buy travel packages. This has become impossible today," she added.
For his part, Ziad Hamadeh, CEO and owner of Hamadan Travel and Tourism, told Xinhua that his company has witnessed a drop in travel demand by 50 percent, and most Lebanese asked for packages to Turkey where they can buy clothes and medicines cheaper than in Lebanon. ■
