Ireland's growing interest in Lebanon as a holiday destination has been stunted by the savage conflict between the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) and Hizbullah.
The Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) says Lebanon was becoming increasingly popular with Irish tourists before travel to the area had to be deferred earlier this month.
"People have been showing more interest lately. Beirut was getting a reputation as a 'cool' destination and unfortunately this has been pushed back by recent developments," said ITAA chief executive Simon Nugent.
"Many people simply go to visit family. We've also noticed an interesting pattern of Irish people who were involved in Unifil (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) over there travelling back with their families to show them where they worked."
Tourism, which had increased in recent years, was worth around $2.5 billion (€1.97 billion) a year to the country. An estimated one in five people were working in tourism before the current violence started on July 12th.
Travel agents Trailfinders say the majority of requests are for group tours around Lebanon, often including other areas of the Middle East. Trailfinders manager Paul Fitzpatrick acknowledges that it is "not a bucket and spade destination" but has been increasingly popular for adventurous or cultural breaks.
Over 1.6 million tourists were expected to visit Lebanon this year. In July the department of tourism predicted that figures for 2006 would represent the largest growth in tourism since the end of the civil war in 1990.
Six hundred thousand people visited Lebanon in the first half of the year - an increase of 24 per cent on the same period last year - making it the most popular holiday destination in the Middle East. The capital, Beirut, is a popular short, city break destination, particularly with tourists from the Gulf. Western tourists are more likely to travel to the ancient sites of Baalbeck, Beiteddine and Anjar, or the historical Mediterranean coastal towns of Tripoli and Sidon.
Holidays from Ireland are arranged on request by a handful of travel agents.
Most visitors travel on the Air France route from Dublin to Paris and Paris to Beirut. There are no direct flights connecting Ireland to the Lebanese capital. As a result, no figures are available for the numbers of Irish travelling to the region.
The village of Qana in southern Lebanon, where more than 50 civilians including 37 children were killed by Israeli bombardment on Sunday, has some claim to be the Biblical Cana, where Jesus turned water into wine.
Qana was also the site of the deaths of 106 civilians under Israeli shelling in 1996. It had recovered some of its tourist traffic until the latest events.
One of Lebanon's major attractions is the annual Baalbeck International Festival. The festival, which began in 1955, has been postponed indefinitely this year for the first time since the civil war.
Billed as one of the "oldest and most prestigious events in the Middle East", it takes place in the Roman acropolis in the town of Baalbeck during July and August and in the past has attracted stars such as Elton John and Sting, among others.
Forty thousand people were expected to attend performances by the British rock band, Deep Purple, Lebanese diva Fairouz and jazz singer Diane Schuur.
