DHIAFEE program aims to promote responsible tourism in Lebanon

The program aims to promote 'responsible tourism' in Lebanon by providing a network of inns and hostels in the rich heartland of the country.

'While virtually all travelers to Lebanon take advantage of Beirut's nightlife or the city's shopping districts, only a handful venture into the country's rich heartlands to discover the different ways Lebanon is lived by the people of its varied regions,' said Mona Fares, Director of Promotions and Development at Lebanon's Ministry of Tourism.

'The DHIAFEE Program seeks to develop tourism in Lebanon that is both ethical and sustainable while striving to minimize the negative side effects that tourism can create in a globalized world. The guiding principle of the program is 'responsible tourism': respecting and preserving local culture, tradition and heritage; increasing and distributing the benefits of tourism to the local population; minimizing the negative environmental, social and economic impacts of travel; and, perhaps most importantly, ensuring meaningful connections between visitors and hosts,'

she said.

Borrowing the Arabic word for 'hospitality', the DHIAFEE Program supports small, family owned hotels, guesthouses and bed and breakfasts - together dubbed Cottage Inns - in realizing their full business potential. With funding from USAID, ANERA, working in tandem with the Lebanese Ministry of Tourism and Al-Kafaat Foundation, has reached out to 47 off-the-path Cottage Inns spanning all of Lebanon which have the allure, but not the means, to become highly enjoyable and successful destinations. These accommodations are relatively small in size (3-30 rooms), have proper facilities such as hot water and western-style bathrooms, and are safe, welcoming places to stay located in areas of Lebanon still steeped in the country's original culture and traditions.

To entice the public to discover these low-cost, high-quality Cottage Inns, ANERA took a two-pronged approach to the problem, involving capacity building on the one hand and marketing support on the other. With technical expertise from highly qualified consultants and schooling from Al-Kafaat Foundation, the program worked with the owners of the Cottage Inns to enhance the quality of services they have to offer. On the other hand, the DHIAFEE Program entailed designing and printing brochures for the Cottage Inns, launching a one-stop, collective Web site and engaging tour operators to secure a sufficient flow of visitors.

Against a backdrop of ongoing political tensions in Lebanon, the region and beyond, the DHIAFEE Program has pioneered a model of tourism which draws from Lebanon's well of untapped potential to see the visitor, the Cottage Inn, and the country profit from an experience not to be found in any standard hotel - regardless of the number of stars.