Enab Baladi – Lama Diab
Tourism offices in Syria face major challenges, despite the country’s potential with its archaeological sites and attractive geographical diversity.
Owners of tourism offices interviewed by Enab Baladi complained that they are deprived of the support they should receive from the relevant authorities, while still being required to comply with conditions that oblige each tourism office to employ staff to obtain a license and operate.
Since the fall of the former regime at the end of 2024, the closure of many embassies—particularly Arab ones—and the decline in religious tourism, the current government has sought to revitalize the tourism sector. Many tourism and travel offices have lost their ability to endure, awaiting the sector’s revival and the return of tourists.
During the years following the outbreak of the revolution in 2011, most tourism and travel offices in Syria relied on limited opportunities, such as organizing trips to neighboring countries, as well as facilitating travel for people to attend interviews and process transactions at Arab or foreign embassies.
No Regulations
Tourism offices have turned into “empty fronts” after once being a source of livelihood for many families, according to Salwa al-Nashar, the director of a tourism office in Damascus.
Al-Nashar said the ministry requires offices to employ specialized staff, pay them salaries, and register them with social security. However, there is no clear plan to revive tourism, causing heavy losses for office owners and making closure inevitable for many, according to al-Nashar.
She added that tourism offices lost their role in the Hajj season after the Ministry of Awqaf took over their organization. All these factors, she noted, have led to significant losses and removed offices from their role in the tourism sector.
The tourism sector is experiencing a state of chaos and a lack of regulations, coupled with the loss of rights for tourism offices and their inability to endure or generate income. Domestic trips are organized through social media platforms such as Facebook by unlicensed groups, depriving licensed offices of their market share, according to the director of another tourism office in Damascus, who preferred to remain anonymous to avoid potential harm to her business.
She added to Enab Baladi that international trips are also organized directly between foreign offices and hotels or resorts, without coordination with local offices, which worsens losses. She called for “a government platform to facilitate coordination between local and international offices.”
She also noted that offices lost the opportunity to work during the Hajj season due to the government’s monopolization of the file, causing further losses.
“Ministry of Tourism” Responds
The Deputy Minister of Tourism, Faraj al-Qashqoush, told Enab Baladi that within the Ministry’s efforts to raise the level of the tourism product and regulate the quality of services provided at tourism sites—including organizing tourist trips—the ministry requires those working in this field to obtain a tourism license for a tour organizing agency. This is to ensure the rights of citizens and tourists in cases of violations, with unlicensed offices being regulated and closed until their status is settled.
Regarding unlicensed groups operating on social media, their activities are monitored in coordination with the Ministry of Interior, as they are considered in violation of the General Penal Code, which states that every profession requires a license. The ministry urges citizens to choose licensed tourism offices because they are subject to quality controls and professional standards, ensuring their rights, according to al-Qashqoush.
He noted that the ministry is working in coordination with the Immigration and Passports Department at the Ministry of Interior to activate the platform for obtaining tourist entry visas through tourism and travel agencies, adding that “coming through a tourism office ensures a good experience for the tourist during their visit, and guarantees the quality of services linked to hotel bookings and tour guides.”
Al-Qashqoush affirmed that reliance on tourism offices’ services “leaves a positive impression” on tourists, which affects Syria’s reputation as a distinguished tourist destination.”
Hotel Investment Opportunities
Al-Qashqoush pointed out that direct hotel bookings by tourists are natural worldwide, but the preferential prices offered to offices are usually a marketing tool that allows them to pass some of this discount to customers, making bookings through an office cheaper than direct bookings. This is tied to increasing tourism investments and providing sufficient hotel rooms to ensure competitiveness.
The Ministry of Tourism is working to introduce new hotel investment opportunities and rehabilitate existing establishments. Al-Qashqoush explained that “tourism and travel offices around the world purchase large numbers of hotel nights at highly competitive rates, enabling them to offer better prices to customers compared to direct booking. This requires commercial networking between tourism offices and sufficient hotel room availability.”
Regarding the Hajj and Umrah seasons, al-Qashqoush explained that coordination is underway between the Ministries of Tourism and Awqaf to organize Umrah trips through licensed tourism offices, and preparations are being coordinated for the upcoming Hajj season, especially since licensed tourism offices have access to global flight and hotel booking systems and can provide high-quality services.
Platform to Identify Tourism Offices
Al-Qashqoush stated that the ministry is working to create a platform on its website that allows citizens and tourists to identify licensed offices and contact them to find the best available tourism trip options, ensuring a wide range of choices and appropriate service-to-price ratios.
With the lifting of sanctions on Syria, the challenge of global competitiveness arises, along with competition from global hotel booking platforms. There are significant investment opportunities in licensing hotel booking companies in Syria to offer online platforms that maintain operational ties with local accommodation establishments. Any platform operating in Syria would require local staff, which in turn requires licensing from the Ministry of Tourism, according to al-Qashqoush.
The ministry aims to regulate the licensing process, simplify procedures, ensure the competence of service providers (both license holders and staff), and continuously monitor operations to ensure the quality of tourism services. Complaints are also received and followed up on to accurately assess an office’s operations.
Tourism as an Economic Resource
Al-Qashqoush emphasized that tourism is one of the most important sectors supporting the Syrian economy by attracting investments that provide foreign currency, create jobs, and contribute to GDP.
The tourism sector contributed about 12–14% to GDP in 2009–2010. The ministry is working under its plans to significantly increase this contribution through investment flows, the return of tourism to Syria, and increased spending, especially after the lifting of economic sanctions and the return of many Arab and international airlines to Syrian airspace and airports, according to al-Qashqoush.
He noted that the quality of services in the tourism sector reflects Syria’s true image as a tourist destination, regaining its place on the global tourism map in a manner befitting its heritage.
The Ministry of Tourism, he added, attaches great importance to service quality by supplying the tourism labor market with trained and qualified professionals, setting operational mechanisms for tourism establishments, monitoring compliance, and taking punitive measures against violators in coordination with relevant ministries and bodies. The ministry also shares expertise to provide the best possible experience for tourists, contributing to increased arrivals.
The ministry’s role lies in tightening control over unlicensed work, facilitating proper licensing procedures, and ensuring the correct provision of services to citizens and tourists. Licensed offices, operating within the law, will have the opportunity to provide quality services and achieve suitable returns—especially as Syria is rapidly regaining its position as a distinguished tourist destination with diverse natural and archaeological assets, according to al-Qashqoush.
Plan to Develop Domestic and International Tourism
On June 20, the Syrian Ministry of Tourism announced a plan to develop domestic and international tourism by enhancing its diversity—whether cultural, health and medical, environmental, or conference tourism.
The plan includes improving infrastructure and visitor services to contribute to the development of both domestic and international tourism, and to encourage tourist arrivals to Syria, especially during the summer season.
Tourism Offices on the Brink of Closure Enab Baladi.
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