Global Blue, one of the world’s leaders in tax refund services, published its quarterly “Globe Shopper Spending Insights in Lebanon” report, conveying an 11.5% annual increase in the value of tax-free spending in Lebanon in the first half of 2019. In detail, tax-free spending by tourists from Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia rose by 57.8%, 39.0%, 39.4%, and 47.0% on a yearly basis respectively by end of H1-2019, with the spike in spending by Saudi Arabian tourists coming in the wake of the lifting of travel restrictions following the formation of the new Lebanese government. Nevertheless tax-free spending by French, Syrian, and Jordanian tourists fell by 15.1%, 8.5%, and 4.5% respectively. From another standpoint, tourists from Qatar and Saudi Arabia also recorded the largest increase in the number of refund transactions, which stood at 34.9% and 35.7% respectively. Conversely, the number of refund transactions fell for tourists coming from France
(-17.5%), Jordan (-13.2%), and the United States of America (-3.4%), only to name a few. Overall, the number of refund transactions came in 6.7% higher on a yearly basis during the first half of 2019.

The lion’s share of tax-free spending goes to Saudi (15%) tourists, followed by Emirati (10%), Kuwaiti (8%), Qatari (8%), and Syrian (8%) tourists, as sketched in the chart below:

Category-wise, “Fashion & Clothing” articles accounted for 66% of total tourist spending in H1-2019, trailed, and by far, by “Watches & Jewelry” items (20%), “Home & Garden” appliances (4%), and “Department Stores” (3%). As far as the geographical distribution of spending is concerned, Beirut, which hosts most pertinent shopping malls and brands, amassed 83% of total tax-free spending, followed by the Metn (12%) and Baabda & Kesserwan regions (2% each).