Lebanon is preparing for a promising summer tourism season, the indicators of which have begun to appear in recent weeks, especially after Saudi Arabia announced the lifting of its travel ban of the Middle Eastern country. Tourism institutions are awaiting a similar decision from the United Arab Emirates, which would make this year’s summer the most rewarding since 2011. As the UAE ambassador to Beirut, Hamad Al-Shamsi, announced earlier that he would work with the concerned authorities to lift the travel ban, Lebanese Tourism Minister Owadis Kidianian and president of the Syndicate of Hotel Owners Pierre Achkar said that the UAE was considering allowing its citizens to travel to Lebanon. The current preparations indicate that Gulf and Arab tourists will come to Lebanon in large numbers, starting from Eid al-Fitr to continue throughout the summer, said Kidianian, in remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat. He hoped that the numbers would reach those of 2010, when tourism accounted for 20 percent of the national income and the number of tourists reached 2.2 million, 40 percent of whom were Arabs. At a time when programs of summer festivals have started to be announced successively, Achkar said the country was likely to receive a large number of tourists in Eid al-Fitr, adding that the projection of the summer season will be clearer next month. “The Lebanese are counting on this summer season to be the best since 2011, based on the political and security factors in the country,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat. “The rate of bookings is expected to appear in May, and - in addition to Saudi tourists, thousands of whom have homes in Lebanon and are the backbone of tourism – we hope that the UAE would make a decision similar to that of Saudi Arabia,” he added. In the same context, the director of Rafik Hariri International Airport, Fadi Hassan, noted that in recent weeks there has been a remarkable rise in flight traffic compared to last year, specifically after the Saudi decision. He told Asharq Al-Awsat: “We see through the meetings we hold with tourism companies that there are signs of a promising season.”