The Media Line: Syria Bets on Tourism Revival, but Visitor Surge Faces Test of Security and Services  

Syria Bets on Tourism Revival, but Visitor Surge Faces Test of Security and Services  

The Tourism Ministry says Syria received 3.52 million visitors in the first half of 2026, up 111% from the same period last year, however, most of these ‘visitors’ were Syrian expatriates 

By Rizik Alabi / The Media Line  

In the narrow alleys of Old Damascus, tour guide Raslan Ramadan has resumed guiding visitors through the Umayyad Mosque, traditional Damascene houses, and historic markets, after years during which he struggled to organize even a single tour.  

According to Ramadan, visitor numbers have risen in recent months. However, he told The Media Line that tourism remains irregular and depends on the availability of flights, continued security and stability, and the quality of services provided to visitors.  

Syrian authorities are betting on tourism as a sector capable of generating jobs and foreign currency more quickly than other industries that may require years of rehabilitation.  

Official data indicates that Syria has more than 4,500 registered archaeological sites, including six listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The country also offers ecotourism destinations in Kessab and Slinfah, coastal resorts in Tartus and Latakia, religious sites, and traditional markets such as Damascus’ Al-Hamidiyah Souq and Aleppo’s old markets.  

The Tourism Ministry says Syria received 3.52 million visitors during the first half of 2026, compared with 1.67 million during the same period last year, an increase of 111%.  

Syrian expatriates constituted the largest group, totaling 2.13 million. The number of non-Arab foreign tourists reached 719,000, an increase of 448%, while the number of Arab tourists rose by 107% to 664,000.  

According to the ministry, arrivals from Turkey topped the list of foreign markets, followed by Germany, Sweden, the United States, the Netherlands, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Jordan led the Arab markets, alongside Lebanon and Iraq.  

The figures, however, do not on their own establish the scale of Syria’s tourism recovery. Under the ministry’s classification system, Syrians arriving from abroad are recorded as visitors, while people of other nationalities are classified as tourists.  

The increase also raises questions about how many of those arrivals represent traditional tourism, since several of the leading source countries have large Syrian diaspora communities and many citizens of Syrian origin. 

Mohammed Suleiman, a receptionist at the Al Majed Hotel in Damascus, said the number of guests has risen steadily since the fall of the Assad regime. However, a large proportion are Syrian expatriates visiting the country rather than foreign tourists in the conventional sense.  

Suleiman told The Media Line that the hotel now receives almost none of the Iranian, Iraqi, and Lebanese visitors who previously came as part of religious tourism groups. He maintained that those visitors had received special treatment and privileges under the former regime. “They used to come as though the country belonged to them,” he said. The Media Line could not independently verify that claim.  

According to Suleiman, foreign guests generally stay between seven and 15 days, while visitors from Lebanon and Jordan tend to stay for shorter periods because of the proximity of the borders and the ease of overland travel.  

On the streets of Damascus, Abdul Ghani, a Kenyan tourist who previously visited Syria in 2009, said his current trip felt more comfortable than his earlier experience. “In the past, tourists were afraid of Bashar Assad’s security services,” he told The Media Line. “Today, the situation is more relaxed.”  

Ghani said Syria’s beauty and the friendliness of its people prompted him to choose the country as a tourism destination this year.  He recalled trying to buy food with old Syrian banknotes during the transitional period for replacing the currency. Authorities had announced that July 30 would be the final deadline for using the old notes, after which only the new currency would be accepted. “I did not know what to do when the vendor refused to take the money,” he said. “Then another customer paid for the food for me.”  

He described the incident as one of several experiences that showed him “the kindness of the Syrian people before the beauty of the tourist attractions.”  

Hasib Mohammed, a Turkish citizen of Syrian origin, said he has visited Syria regularly since the fall of the Assad regime and described life in the country as “wonderful.”  

“Syria offers Turks a welcome escape, and there are family ties and neighborly relations between the two peoples, which is why I come regularly,” he told The Media Line. “In Damascus, you feel as though you are in Istanbul, and vice versa.”  

However, Mohammed said the tourism sector needs better organization, particularly in digital services that help visitors find hotels, restaurants, and tourist attractions, and make reservations more easily.  

A young Syrian team is working to address part of that gap. Anas al-Midani, a Syrian who returned from Germany and settled in Syria, said he and his team are developing an integrated, multilingual platform for tourists. The platform is expected to provide information about hotels, restaurants, tourist sites, and booking services. Al-Midani declined to disclose its name before its official launch.  

According to statistics obtained by The Media Line from the Tourism Ministry, Syria has more than 348 hotels distributed across its provinces. Damascus has 183 hotels across various categories, in addition to 44 heritage hotels classified separately, most of which are located in Old Damascus. That brings the capital’s total number of hotel establishments to 227.  

However, the number of establishments does not necessarily reflect their actual operating capacity or the quality of their services, amid price variations, weak online booking systems, and difficulty accessing reliable, consolidated information that tourists can use.  

Tourism Minister Mazen al-Salhani said during a panel discussion at the Syrian-British Business Council conference, held July 1, 2026, that hotel occupancy indicators and tourist numbers had increased by between 150% and 200% compared with last year. The ministry, however, has not published an overall average occupancy rate or a breakdown by province and hotel category.  

The ministry has not publicly released comprehensive data on average visitor spending, hotel nights, or tourism revenues, indicators that provide a more accurate measure of the sector’s economic impact than entry figures alone.  

In an effort to improve services, the General Authority for Tourism and Hotel Training organized the first refresher course for tour guides since the issuance of Law No. 29 of 2024, which requires guides to attend a course every three years to renew their professional licenses.  

Muslim al-Naim, the authority’s director general, told The Media Line that high transportation and accommodation costs prompted the authority to organize the course virtually for the first time. The online format enabled 101 tour guides to participate, including some living outside Syria. “This method enabled broad interaction and rich discussions while sparing participants the burden of travel and high costs,” al-Naim said.  

Syrian authorities are also attempting to address a security legacy that long damaged the country’s image as a destination for foreign visitors. 

Media and human rights organizations documented cases in which foreign visitors were detained while traveling in Syria under the former regime. They included Canadian Kristian Lee Baxter, who was held for about eight months between 2018 and 2019, and American Travis Timmerman, who spent seven months in prison after entering Syria on an independent Christian pilgrimage in 2024.  

The Media Line found no comprehensive public data on the number of foreign tourists or visitors detained by the former regime’s security services. However, for years, such cases reinforced Syria’s image as a destination where visitors faced security risks extending beyond those posed by the war itself.  

To strengthen visitor security, the Interior Ministry, in cooperation with the Tourism Ministry, established a Tourism Police Department. Its first cohort comprised 518 male and female officers who graduated in May 2026 after receiving training in foreign languages, tourism studies, and the protection of tourist sites and facilities.  

According to authorities, the force is tasked with securing tourist groups, archaeological sites, and hotels; accompanying major events such as the Damascus International Fair and cultural festivals; addressing violations; and preventing the exploitation of tourists or manipulation of prices. Tourism police officers have been deployed in uniforms and vehicles bearing a distinctive visual identity in Damascus, Rural Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Latakia, and Tartus.  

The Tourism Ministry says it has signed 17 memoranda of understanding and 10 partnership agreements to develop tourism facilities. The projects include plans to rehabilitate the Dama Rose and Carlton Damascus hotels, as well as facilities in Slinfah and al-Dimas. The ministry has not disclosed the agreements’ total value or their implementation schedules.   

Damascus is also preparing to host the first Syria Travel Forum 2026 from September 28 to 30.  

Organizers expect more than 30 exhibitors and 20 speakers to participate, with more than 5,000 visitors anticipated during the three-day event.  

Rasha al-Shami, who organizes forums and exhibitions in Damascus, told The Media Line that the success of an investment forum should not be measured by the number of meetings or participants. Instead, she said, it should be judged “by its ability to turn meetings and discussions into partnerships and projects implemented on the ground.”  

For Ramadan, the return of visitors to Damascus represents an encouraging start, but it has not yet become a regular tourism season. He said the sector’s success will depend on continued stability, easier access to the country, and improved services so visitors can plan with confidence, and the recovery can become more than intermittent.