Global travel interest in countries surrounding Syria has dropped 47%, in comparison to that in September 2012. Lebanon accounts for the biggest drop in visitor interest, down 79% from last September, according to hotel search www.trivago.sg. Cyprus experienced a 55% YoY decrease of traveler interest, Israel down 38%, Jordan, -32% and Turkey, -31%.

This last summer travel season, 85% of international visitors interested in Lebanon were searching for hotels in the coastal capital, Beirut, where the average hotel price (124€) has dropped 20% from last year. Similarly, the average hotel price in Tel Aviv, Israel this month (145€) is down 12% from last year. Average hotel rates also slid from last year in the Turkish cities of Antalya (86€, down 28%) and Istanbul (130€, down 15%). Meanwhile, hotel prices in nearby Jordan saw a 24% decrease from last year in Aqaba City (95€) and a 6% decrease in Amman (100€). Hotel prices have also decreased 15% over the year in Paphos, Cyprus (at 127€).