Lebanon's 500-room luxury hotel InterContinental Phoenicia opened its doors Wednesday following an almost two-month closure after a bomb blast ripped through the convoy of former premier Rafik Hariri.

The Phoenicia, located at the seafront area of Beirut, was badly damaged when an estimated 1000 kilogramme bomb killed Hariri and 19 other people in addition to inflicting heavy damage to at least ten hotels in the area.

The Phoenicia's director of sales, Pascal Gauvin, hoped that with the reopening "the phones will start ringing again to book rooms for the upcoming summer season".

"We tried our best to reopen as fast as we could," Gauvin said, adding: "We still have some work to do in the upper floors but we managed to open most of the floors and the restaurants."

But he said the speedy repairs has come at a high price: about 15 million dollars when the repairs are finished.

"We are only talking about repair costs, and not about losses from the closure," he added.

In the last summer season, the Phoenicia enjoyed full occupancy by the Arab tourists who like to stay there.

In addition to the tourists, the hotel hosted a number of economic conferences which were held during the term of Premier Hariri.

The hotel today has only 21 guests on board, but Gauvin hopes this number will increase once the hotel is fully open and the situation in Lebanon stabilizes.

"It is not going to be easy, but this country is attractive and tourists would like to come back," he says, stressing that to get the people to back, first "we need to sell confidence".

A receptionist at the Phoenicia, who gave her name alone as Marrelle, was busy Wednesday calling old Lebanese customers to inform them that all the restaurants were opened and that special events would be held in the hotel in April.

"We have to make people feel that this area is safe and they can be entertained here again," she said.

In the meantime, the Lebanese Tourism Ministry, alerted to the reopening of the Phoenicia, has started a joint campaign with Lebanese satellite channels to promote the summer season in Lebanon by showing video clips of summer resorts as well as promoting summer events.

"We have to be quick in our campaign despite the instability prevailing now, Lebanese Tourism Minister Wadih al-Khazen said. "But things will get better soon."

"People in the Middle East tend to plan their vacation late so hopefully we will have plenty of time to attract them again," Khazan said.

Former finance minister Foaud Seniora who toured the Phoenicia Hotel with deputy Bahia Hariri, the sister of the late former premier, said "Lebanon last year attracted more than one million tourists. Hopefully this year we will attract more by unity and steadfastness in overcoming our troubles."

And according to Hariri's sister: "the Lebanese are survivors and we should stand and face our challenges and continue what the great martyr (Rafik) Hariri has started."

"We should return life to our city from whomever took it from us," she said.

This article was first published at www.hotelsmag.com