Officials at the Nassib border crossing with Jordan told Al-Watan daily that there had been a significant increase in the number of visitors, mostly Arabs or Syrians residing in Arabian Gulf countries.
The figures, which have not been collected since the war began in 2011, total 7,000 people a day, mostly Arabs, who have been unable to visit this Levantine country due to the sever ties, the sources said.
They confirmed that an average of 600 private cars and 55 public transport buses arrive every day, not counting trucks and other vehicles that regularly enter and exit.
On the other hand, the media circulated videos of large crowds at the border crossing, prompting the Syrian authorities to reinforce their customs and emigration staff to ensure the flow of people.
In recent statements, Syrian Tourism Minister Mohammad Rami Martini estimated that the number of visitors to the country this year could reach about 2.5 million, including about 700,000 tourists.
The number is increasing and Syrian expatriates are the first we expect to see next season, the headline said.
In 2010, the year before the war began, the country received eight million 500,000 visitors and this sector contributed an income that represented 9.0 percent of gross domestic product, but after that the flow of tourists fell by 98 percent.
According to various media outlets, the sector’s losses totaled billions of dollars, while 1,500 facilities went out of service, 403 tourist attractions were destroyed and more than 260,000 workers were out of work.
lam/fm