The DHIAFEE Program
The DHIAFEE program was conceived by
ANERA in recognition of the outstanding potential for tourism to contribute to the economic development of communities throughout Lebanon. In a country rich with sites that appeal to a wide variety of travelers, the DHIAFEE Program believes that visitors will enjoy the opportunity to stay in local communities where they can gain an authentic experience of life in Lebanon.
The DHIAFEE Program is also working with Al-Kafaat Foundation to enable them to enroll more students in their Catering and Hospitality Management Schools and provide them a higher quality education. Young people graduating from Al-Kafaat will receive assistance in finding good quality jobs in the tourism sector. At the same time, Al-Kafaat Foundation professionals support the DHIAFEE Program with their technical expertise – contributing to the development of the cottage inns of Lebanon.
Supporting Cottage Inns
The DHIAFEE program supports Cottage Inns (also known as Alternative Tourism Lodgings) in rural areas throughout Lebanon in order to promote tourism and small business development.
The DHIAFEE Program conducted a detailed assessment of the available cottage inns throughout Lebanon (outside Beirut) reviewing around 95 cottage inns in nearly all geographic areas of the country including bed and breakfasts, youth hostels, religious lodgings and camping sites. Based on this assessment, the DHIAFEE Program chose around 45 cottage inns to work with on:
- Direct business development assistance and consultation
as well as hospitality training to owners of cottage inns to
develop their business and services and generate additional
income. This will be done in two phases:
The first phase focuses on working with the owners of
cottage inns to develop their plans for developing and
improving their facilities to better meet the needs of
potential clients and develop their marketing strategies.
The second phase focuses on technical skills of owners and
staff related to the day-to-day management of services such
as table setting, hygiene, reception, etc.
- Development of personalized brochures and websites for
each cottage inn
- Promotion and marketing of the network of the cottage inns
(www.dhiafeeprogram.org) and link them to other stakeholders
in the tourism industry to attract more tourists
In order to meet the definition of a “cottage inn” and be eligible for the DHIAFEE Program,
the DHIAFEE team used the following criteria to choose the
program beneficiaries:
The lodging should not have less than 3 or more than 30 rooms for sleeping (with very few exceptions);
The lodging should be outside Beirut;
The lodging should be low cost; average of $35 per night per person, including breakfast, with very few exceptions
depending on the season (up to $70);
The lodging should have a kitchen, which may or may not be open for the use of guests;
The lodging should have private bathrooms and hot water;
The lodging should be safe for guests and should not serve as housing for laborers or be in use for activities which might be disturbing to potential guests;
The lodging should have a unique appeal.
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