by Dana Halawi

BEIRUT, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Khaled Serhal and Nathalie Okais decided to compensate for the bad moments amid the economic crisis in Lebanon by celebrating Valentine's Day.

The young couple reserved a room for one night at 100 U.S. dollars at a hotel in Faraya, about 50 km north of the capital Beirut, known for its beautiful ski slopes and joyful winter atmosphere.

"The price may be a bit high given the fact that my salary is 700 dollars after the crisis, but life has to go on," said Serhal, who works at a renowned bank in Beirut.

With the sharp devaluation of the Lebanese pound, the couple has lost seven years of their savings in Lebanese banks.

Lebanon's economic and financial crisis plunged more than 80 percent of the population into poverty as the collapse of the local currency caused huge shrinkage in salaries, especially for public sector employees whose wages are paid in the Lebanese pound, according to the official statistics. To make things worse, people lost billions of dollars in deposits and long-time savings.

The crisis prompted people to focus spending on necessary items and basic needs. Still, restaurants and hotel executives attribute the good demand for their services during Valentine's Day to those whose salaries have been partly paid in dollars.

Amal Maristani, an assistant front office manager at Galleria Hotel in Beirut, told Xinhua that her hotel offers two packages for Valentine's, one for 120 dollars for dinner and entertainment, and the other including a room reservation and dinner for 220 dollars.

"I cannot say we are fully booked, but we are surprised at the demand for our packages, especially the dinner offer," Maristani said.

Khaled Nazha, vice president of the Syndicate of Owners of Restaurants, Cafes, Night-Clubs, and Pastries in Lebanon, told Xinhua that demand for services at renowned places for Valentine's is coming mainly from 8 percent of Lebanese residents who have businesses inside or outside the country and can thus afford to pay for such celebrations.

Hotels and restaurants in most parts of the country were also keen to offer reasonable prices for people working in the public sector whose salaries have dropped tremendously in the crisis, he added.

"But I doubt that any of the people working for the public sector are considering celebrating Valentine's this year," Nazha said.

Ayman Omar, director of the Ishraq Center for Studies, noted that remittances sent by expatriates to their relatives in Lebanon also help increase the local demand for Valentine's celebrations.

"We receive around 6.8 billion dollars yearly in remittances. The Lebanese love life by nature and may allocate a sum of money for these occasions," he said.

Omar explained that if around 5 percent of the Lebanese are financially capable, this will constitute 300,000 out of a population of approximately 6 million.

"If only 10 percent of these 300,000 decide to celebrate, this will create activity in restaurants and hotels," the economist added. Enditem

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