The ancient city of Palmyra in eastern Homs province is struggling to restore its position as a tourist destination, despite a gradual return of visitors since the ouster of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024. Sector workers say deteriorating infrastructure, weak hotel services and limited flows of European tourists continue to hamper the recovery of tourism activity in the city.
Diverging estimates of Palmyra’s visitor numbers
Hassan al-Ali, head of Palmyra’s Antiquities Department, said the number of foreign visitors to the city since the ouster of the regime had exceeded hundreds, while the number of local visitors had surpassed thousands. But Mohammed Abdul Latif, a hotel manager in the modern part of the city, described the numbers as modest and below initial expectations.
Abdul Latif said tourism facilities faced challenges linked to the destruction the city suffered during the war, noting that no infrastructure rehabilitation activity had yet emerged. Before 2011, Palmyra attracted widespread attention as one of Syria’s leading tourist destinations.
European travel concerns hinder tourists’ return
Tour guide Fayer Barisha attributed weak demand to the limited number of tourists coming to Syria in general, particularly from European Union countries, which had been a major source of Palmyra’s visitors. He said concerns about traveling to Syria, along with deteriorating services and infrastructure in the city, were limiting the arrival of foreign and local visitors.
Jamil al-Qayem, a tourism development researcher, pointed to reservations in several European capitals about travel to Syria. He said Palmyra currently received individual visits from enthusiasts from various countries, in addition to thousands of Syrians. Before 2011, according to al-Qayem, the city had around 25 hotels of varying standards, more than 20 shops selling Oriental antiques, dozens of street vendors and about 10 specialized tour guides.
War damage requires comprehensive rehabilitation
Large parts of the city’s neighborhoods were also damaged by military operations and shelling carried out by Bashar al-Assad’s regime during its attempts to seize control of the city. Al-Qayem called for government plans to rehabilitate damaged hotels and launch new tourism projects, along with overseas promotional campaigns and efforts to encourage the return of European flights.
He also stressed the importance of resuming archaeological missions to restore damaged sites. Projects linked to improving access to the area include the Damascus–Deir ez-Zor road, which stretches 425 kilometers. The Syrian General Establishment for Roads and Land Transport estimated the cost of building it at about 300 million dollars, with completion expected to take about two years.
Al-Qayem said Palmyra received about 120,000 tourists who stayed in its hotels in 2010, in addition to around 30,000 visitors who passed through the city without staying overnight, bringing the total to 150,000 tourists. He stressed that returning to those levels would require developing infrastructure and tourism facilities and restoring archaeological sites.
Natural assets and plans to expand tourism activity
Palmyra’s attractions are not limited to its archaeological sites, which include temples dating to the first and second centuries AD. Al-Qayem also pointed to the area’s desert environment, palm groves and nature reserves, as well as Jabal al-Amour, which could host a range of tourism projects and activities.
Barisha proposed strengthening Syria’s presence at international tourism fairs, activating the role of diplomatic missions in promoting archaeological destinations, producing introductory films and organizing tours for influential figures. He also called for boosting domestic tourism by arranging visits for school and university students.
The tourism sector accounted for about 12 percent of Syria’s gross domestic product before 2011, according to official estimates. Syria’s Tourism Ministry announced in July 2026 that the number of visitors to the country during the first half of the year had reached 3.52 million, compared with 1.67 million during the same period in 2025, a growth rate of 111 percent.
