Fuel Crisis Threatens Tourism

Rising fuel costs will damage the tourist trade year, the government newspaper Tishreen reported on June 4.



Tishreen cited price hikes for hotels, transport, tour guides and food, noting that rooms at one five-star hotel had recently jumped from 143 to 180 US dollars, and that a transport company had hiked its fares by 125 per cent.



The newspaper reported that many tourist firms were struggling to cover their costs because it set up tours with tourist agencies abroad before the recent fuel hikes.



The newspaper said government agencies such as the ministry of tourism were failing to look at the price rises, and that inflation in the sector was in fact running higher than the fuel price hikes.