Tourist arrivals dropped 79 percent in the first four months of this year compared to the same period of last year, according to statistics from the Ministry of Tourism.

According to figures from the ministry, reported in Tishreen, a local daily, the number of tourists from the Gulf declined 83 percent to 18,246, the numbers of tourists from Europe and from neighbouring countries both fell 82 percent to 15,013 and 203,299 respectively, while the number of Iranian tourists declined 78 percent to 49,817. The total number of tourists was not reported.

The number of hotel nights also fell 78 percent year-on-year in the four months ending April, although the actual occupancy rate was not made available.

The steep decline in tourist numbers was partly compensated by a much milder reduction in the number of one-day visitors; i.e. visitors from neighbouring countries that come on family, shopping or business visits and spend less than a day in Syria. Their total number fell 15 percent on annual basis to 383,295.

The hospitality industry is among the sectors most affected by the downturn that has followed the beginning of the popular uprising in Syria in March 2011. Tourism is a major source of foreign currency earnings for the country and rose at double-digit pace in the last few years.