Joseph Sarkis said the 2008 outlook was "not encouraging" for a sector hit by war, assassinations, bombings, a deep political dispute and civil strife over the last three years.

Gulf states Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain have all advised their citizens against travelling to Lebanon. Riyadh went a step further last week by advising its nationals to leave.

"The losses could be huge," Sarkis told newswire Reuters in an interview. The sector earned Lebanon some $1.5-$2 billion last year, well below the $4-$4.5 billion that it should be bringing to the Arab country on the Mediterranean, he said.

"Without the visits of the Arabs, we will lose a great percentage," Sarkis said. "If they stay away from Lebanon, what about the Europeans?" he added. Gulf Arabs account for around a fifth of Lebanon's annual visitors.

"Lebanon is losing billions of dollars annually because of the conditions we are passing through," Sarkis said.

Visitors to Lebanon numbered around a million last year, when the country's problems were compounded by an armed Islamist insurrection in the north.

"For 2008, our expectations, unfortunately, are not encouraging," Sarkis said, listing political tension, security incidents and the recent arrival of a US warship off the coast as factors that could scare off visitors.

Washington backs the anti-Damascus Beirut government which has been locked in a power struggle with a Syria-backed opposition for 16 months. It is Lebanon's worst internal crisis since the 1975-90 civil war.

"We hope that this situation is exceptional, that things return to their normal state... that the states of the Arab Gulf lift this warning," Sarkis said.

The tourism sector accounted for about a fifth of Lebanon's gross domestic product (GDP) before the civil war and could contribute up to 12% again were the country to enjoy a protracted period of calm, Sarkis said.

"We cannot talk tourism and ask tourists to come to Lebanon while the situation is not stable." -Reuters