BEIRUT — In the early afternoon along Armenia Street in Mar Mikhael, one of Beirut’s vibrant nightlife hubs, bar staff set up for the long night ahead. While some turned chairs, others prepped the bar and unpacked boxes of Christmas decorations for the much-anticipated holiday business.

“A lot of Lebanese come back for the holidays and they come with fresh dollars, so they end up spending a lot of money,” says Mark Hayek, a bartender at Internazionale Bar, one of the first to open along the street.

Flights to Lebanon between Dec. 20 and 31 reached 85% capacity by November, according to the president of Lebanon’s Association and Travel and Tourist Agents, Jean Abboud. L'Orient quoted him as saying they would likely reach 100% capacity and more flights would be organized as the country welcomes hundreds of thousands of Lebanese expatriates and tourists this holiday season.

Tourism revenues are expected to be similar to those seen over the summer, which counted over one million visitors who brought in nearly $4.5 million in revenue, Abboud noted, saying, there would be a “significant increase” in Arab and foreign tourists, a rebound from the past three winters when protests, the pandemic and the port explosion had deterred visitors.