BEIRUT, Lebanon – Despite the turbulent security climate, Lebanon’s summer season registered a thirty percent increase in tourism, Tourism Minister Michel Pharaon said Sunday.

Pharaon announced the news during a conference for the World Tourism Organization for the Middle East in Cairo Sunday.

In a plan to boost tourism, Pharaon requested the establishment of a new Phoenician touristic route which would include Jordan, Tunisia, France and Lebanon.

The tourism minister spoke about previous initiatives aimed at improving tourism in Lebanon, including the promotional campaign titled “Live Love Lebanon.”

Pharaon also discussed the launch of a new website dedicated to exposing touristic regions in the country, particularly rural tourism.