As of February 24, the EU announced certain sanctions on Syria will now be lifted.
One of the most surprising world events from 2024 was the fall of Bashar Al-Assad’s Government in Syria, by revolutionary forces. The first months of the transitional government have seen Syrias defacto leader create many international ties with leaders from the Middle East, Gulf and further abroad to Europe.
With this increased diplomacy and change in government, the conversation of relieving sanctions has been a topic spoken about since the Assad regime fell. Now, Europe is set to repeal some sanctions previously in place during the Assad rule and the civil war, so what does this mean for travel to Syria?
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Sanctions on Syria Set To Lift:
The EU has decided the following:
- Remove sanctions in the energy (including oil, gas and electricity) and transport sectors
- Remove Industrial Bank, Popular Credit Bank, Saving Bank, Agricultural Cooperative Bank, and Syrian Arab Airlines from the list of entities subject to asset freezes and economic restrictions. Additionally, authorize the transfer of funds and economic resources to the Syrian Central Bank.
- Allow certain exemptions to the restriction on banking relationships between Syrian banks and financial institutions in member state territories, enabling transactions linked to the energy and transport sectors, as well as those essential for humanitarian assistance and reconstruction efforts.
- Extend indefinitely the application of the existing humanitarian exemption
- introduce an exemption for personal use to export prohibitions of luxury goods to Syria
However, not all restrictions have been lifted. Restrictions related to chemical weapons, Assad property, illegal drug trading and intelligence will remain. However, this offers a great opportunity to rebuild the Syrian economy which has been extremely damaged by years of international sanctions, economic exclusion and war.
What Will The Relief Of Restrictions Mean For Syria?
The relief of restrictions should see positive economic changes for Syria. Increased trade of one of Syrias largest exports (oil) should help rejuvenate the economy. Furthermore trade routes using Syrian seaports should see much needed economic development.
With Europe relieving sanctions, hopefully other countries will follow suit and will continue engaging with Syria for trade to help rebuild the economy.
What Will The Relief Of Restrictions Mean For Tourism To Syria?
Already, the transitional government has expressed their desire to increase the amount of tourism to Syria as a strategy of economic development and to return to the pre-war economy, where tourism contributed approximately 14% to the economy.
The new transitional government released the new visa prices – breaking every country down into 10 categories with different prices and time periods for entry. Prices have overall increased since Assad’s time, however the increased visa prices should help with tourism income.
One of the restrictions being removed is the restrictions on Syrian Airlines, one of the Syrian owned airplane companies. This should make the way for direct flights between Europe and Damascus.
Syrian Airlines formally operated many routes between Europe and Damascus. In 2009, these routes included:
- Amsterdam, NetherlandsAthens, Greece
- Bucharest, Romania
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Frankfurt, Germany
- Istanbul, Turkey
- London, United Kingdom
- Madrid, Spain
- Marseille, France
- Moscow, Russia
- Paris, France
- Rome, Italy
- Vienna, Austria
It will be interesting to see which routes return, and what new routes may appear. WizzAir has also commented that they are looking to add Syria to their destination list in the near future.
The lifting the economic and Syrian Airline restrictions can help encourage more competitive pricing for tickets to Aleppo and Damascus, promote tourism and help to stimulate the economy. Many people forget that Syria has tourism infrastructure, as prior to the war it was a regional hub for tourists on pilgrimage, to see ancient sites and to experience the Levant lifestyle. Hopefully, tourism will return to the numbers pre-war and maybe even increase!
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