Lebanese men smoke at an outdoor cafe in Beirut Beirut – Georges Chahine Lebanese tourism syndicates held a press conference in the Monroe Hotel in which they proposed an amendment to the law 174, which banned smoking in enclosed public spaces. They stressed on the importance of such law but with amendments in order “to mitigate the losses it caused to the economic and touristic sectors.”
The conference was attended by a large number of people responsible for the tourism sector in the country, including Paul Aris, President of the Restaurant and Café Owners Syndicate. In his speech, he said that “we invested a huge financial capital in the Lebanese tourism industry and created thousands of job opportunities. We were creative in our institutions and exported our experiences to all Arab countries and cities across the continent.”
He added that “we are the ceiling of the law, not above it, but on the condition that the law is fair. We will not be the victim of societies which claim to be civil but instead see only through the eyes of their foreign and local sponsors. We don’t know what their aims really are and if they care about the destiny of hundreds of hospitality, night-life or restaurant institutions and the destiny of thousands of employees and the destiny of the whole Lebanese kitchen.”
He continued, saying that “today, we are cooking in the middle of a crisis that our sector has never been through. We have overcome with stubbornness and courage all the political, security and military disasters that affected our country for many years. We stayed firm and kept Lebanon at the top of the touristic countries in the East. Here, we are now being targeted by an unjust law, a law that has caused severe losses in hundreds of our institutions and continues to do so.
“The law was passed at the wrong time, when the sector was already suffering from political and security turmoil that caused a sharp fall in the number of tourists.”
He concluded his speech by calling for the help of all the associations and institutions that are interested in the Lebanese general wealth to work together in order to save the tourism industry which is as risk.
Meanwhile, Charles Arbid, Chairman of Lebanese Franchise Association, also addressed the conference, saying that, “with all respect to the civilized and modern laws, we stress that it is not the appropriate situation for experiments or adventures. We stress that discussions should never take place between those who are civilised and developed and others who are irresponsible and have personal interests at stake.”
He went on to argue that it was vital to reconsider the law after it had damaged thousands of businesses and threatened jobs.
Pierre Al-Ashkar, Head of the Union of Tourism Syndicates in Lebanon and Head of the Hotel Owners' Association, concurred stating that “we are not calling to cancel the smoking ban but, instead, for a law that takes our business into account.”
He criticised the government for not accomplishing anything but merely causing problems to business owners, specifically those in the restaurant and hotel sectors.
Ashkar also pointed out that the main issue is trying to find a compromise whereby there is a chance to apply the smoking ban in public places to protect the citizen’s health and rights, without causing damage to the touristic institutions and their interests.
“I believe it is possible, there are many successful examples that are applied in European and Arab countries. We can benefit from their experience to overcome the negative aspects of the law in Lebanon,” he added.
He proposed that coffee shops could be granted licenses for smoking areas, especially for nargile (shisha pipes) and that specific smoking areas could also be assigned in restaurants and hotels.
He concluded his speech by announcing his full support to the syndicates and unions until their demands and requests are met by an amendment to the law, for the sake of the tourist institutions which are the main source of the national economy.