www.bahraintribune.com Lebanon expects to attract 1.6 million tourists in 2006, generating $2 billion in revenues, provided the country does not see a repeat of last yearأ¢â‚¬â„¢s bombing spree, Tourism Minister Joseph Sarkis said.

Tourism, one of Lebanonأ¢â‚¬â„¢s key earners of hard currency, was hit after the February 2005 killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Al Hariri and a string of ensuing assassinations and blasts. The upheaval resulted in an 11 per cent decline in the number of tourists to around 1.1 million.

أ¢â‚¬إ“No matter what we do to improve the situation, any security incident could hamper our plans, so we hope the stability that we have been enjoying recently persists,أ¢â‚¬آ‌ Sarkis said.

أ¢â‚¬إ“The unstable security situation had a negative effect on tourism last year, although it was not that dramatic. But with the halt in security incidents the situation has been improving and we have very encouraging signs this year.أ¢â‚¬آ‌ He said 350,000 tourists visited the country in the first four months of 2006, a 30 per cent increase on the same period last year.