2006 Speeches

Remarks at the Transfer of Tourism Website from USAID to Ministry of Tourism

June 13, 2006

Minister of Tourism Joe Sarkis;
Director General Ms. Nada Sardouk;
Ladies and gentlemen:

I going to tell you something that you all know and believe strongly: Lebanon is a beautiful country.

Even as I sit in crawling traffic inching towards Beirut among construction chaos, the sparkling Mediterranean Sea out my right window offers relief. But as you all know, the real beauty of Lebanon lies beyond the boundaries of Beirut, in its mountain villages, among archeological sites of all ages, in the flowering orchards of a fertile Bekaa valley and along Lebanon’s diverse and inviting coastline.

And summer is a wonderful time to explore and enjoy what Lebanon offers in abundance: natural beauty, welcoming hosts and restaurants for every taste and budget. Like you, I am pleased that Lebanon’s regular summer visitors are returning to enjoy all that this diverse country has to offer. And I hope the numbers will continue to increase and that those who come here will discover all that Lebanon has to offer.

That was, in fact, the idea behind USAID funding to SRI to strengthen rural tourism in Lebanon: To expand economic opportunities beyond the boundaries of Beirut by promoting the 90 percent of Lebanon most tourists never visit.

Over the past five years, $4.9 million in USAID funding has helped, among other things, establish a national tourist information center, created and produced promotional materials for the Ministry of Tourism to promote Lebanon abroad, supported the 2006 Batroun Festival, and assisted local communities in accessing business services such as marketing and promotion. And what this means, we hope, will be new jobs and increased business in rural areas.

The Destination Lebanon website launched two years ago is an important component of this project. Today we are celebrating an important milestone in this USAID-financed project: the transfer of ownership of the www.DestinationLebanon.com website from USAID/SRI to the Ministry of Tourism.

This replacement of the dot com address to the dot gov dot lb (.gov.lb) is more important that it may appear. What this signifies is that the Ministry of Tourism will now own and operate this very useful tool to promote Lebanon as a destination for tourism. And what we are handing over is a very valuable asset. Over the past two years, our USAID partners SRI International have developed and upgraded the content of the website to produce an eye-catching and useful resource for those who want to discover Lebanon’s tourist attractions. Funding for the project is a gift from the American people and represents an investment of $150,000 to improve the lives of Lebanon’s rural population.

Our ceremony today also underscores our confidence in the Government of Lebanon and the Lebanese people to manage their own future. Consistent with the underlying philosophy of all our USAID projects, this initiative was designed to provide the Lebanese with the skills and knowledge to make and take decisions for their own future. Today, we are proud to turn over the Destination Lebanon website to the Ministry of Tourism and we know that the project will be in excellent hands. This project—the result of a successful partnership between USAID, SRI and the Ministry of Tourism—embodies the firm, committed and long term relationship between the United States and Lebanon.

In his State of the Union address in January 2006, President Bush described the United States as a “partner for a better life” and spoke of the support the American people, through USAID, offer to improve the lives of millions of people living in developing countries. I’m proud that a component of our $40 million in U.S. Government assistance to Lebanon annually could include this project and that we could then turn it over to such excellent partners.

Mr. Minister, congratulations. Our partners SRI look forward to providing ongoing training to the Ministry. And I look forward to our continuing partnership to secure an economically prosperous Lebanon with employment and opportunity for all.