Can Syria become a tourist destination again?

Syrian Tourism Minister Mazen al-Salhani told The National newspaper that the country needs about $100 billion in investment over the next seven years to rebuild its tourism sector.

"Syria is trying to raise funds to rehabilitate cultural heritage sites, rebuild hotels, build new resorts and upgrade infrastructure to welcome local and international visitors," he told the United Arab Emirates-based publication, adding that 1,468 tourist facilities needed reconstruction and renovation.

Syria is set to gradually rebuild its tourism sector, which has been frozen for a long time due to civil war and sanctions, which in turn isolated the country from the global financial system. In September, Damascus signed investment agreements worth 1.5 billion dollars to support tourism.

In 2010, at the peak of the tourism industry, Syria imported 8.5 million tons Urist accepted, but with the onset of internal conflict, in which hundreds of thousands of people died and millions fled abroad, the economy soon collapsed.

The current government of President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is trying to restore investor confidence, attract foreign direct investment, as well as implement legislative reform and revaluation of the devalued currency.

According to Salhan, Syria plans to attract a total of five million visitors this year, which will be 1 million more than last year's number. However, this requires creating security guarantees, renovating the Damascus International Airport, improving road and rail transport, offering quality accommodation and services to tourists, and restoring war-damaged landmarks.

The minister also explained that within the framework of the five-year tourism strategy, Syria aims to increase the share of this sector in the gross domestic product from 15 (2025) to 30-35 percent (2030). According to him, consider the plan BS will employ 40,000 people directly and indirectly in the field of tourism in 2026, which will increase from 450,000 to 500,000 by 2030.

According to a report by the Syrian Ministry of Tourism, the total number of visitors to Syria reached 3.56 million in the first eleven months of 2025, an 18% year-on-year increase. Most of them (2.69 million visitors) are Syrians living abroad, which is 6% more than last year.

Source: 1 channel