For more than 25 years, Ariane Travel & Tourism has been assisting a wide range of customers with all their travel needs, establishing itself as a market leader in providing top-notch services and competitive deals in airline tickets, hotel bookings, tours, and packages all over the world. Ariane had been one of the Top 10 travel agencies in the Lebanese market for more than 10 years.
We talked to the Ariane Travel & Tourism team about the impact of the support received through their participation in the WEEL Project, funded by the European Union and implemented by Expertise France.
Growth and Impact
“Given the recent drawbacks caused by COVID-19 as well as the inevitable obstacles in the Lebanese economy and volatile currency exchange rate, most Lebanese are no longer able to travel, which in turn shifted their expenditure and leisure pocket share towards local tourism.
To counter this dip in demand, we will be re-establishing the service ‘Enjoy Lebanon’, offering adventure and unique experiences in Lebanon and creating an impact on the whole value chain covering the tourism sector in Lebanon from hospitality, guides, transportation, and local producers.
We applied to the EU Funded project to get both financial and expert support in local tourism training, marketing, business, and financial consultancy. We received a grant that will cover the implementation of our project.
Through WEEL, our project will have a tri-fold impact: Economic, Social, and Environmental. From generating foreign currency and impacting the tourism value chain to sustaining and increasing the employment rate and promoting ecotourism that will encourage locals and internationals to enjoy the outdoor activities and events in the nature. ‘Enjoy Lebanon’ will have an impact on the sector.
The demand is increasing for local tourism and leisure. It’s the best time to invest in our resources and strengthen our weaknesses to capture those opportunities. With a strong marketing strategy and internal structure, we aim to reach a decent share of the market that will generate an estimated 9% profit in year one.”
About WEEL
WEEL is part of a larger programme, the EU for Women Empowerment (EU4WE), a 42-month programme (October 2019 – March 2023) funded by the European Union and implemented by Expertise France. It aims at promoting full and unconditional equality between men and women in Lebanon. The specific purpose of EU4WE is to reduce gender-based violence through women’s empowerment and enhance existing institutional mechanisms working towards gender equality.
