BEIRUT, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The 2018 summer season witnessed an increase in tourists and the formation of a new government will help this sector further, said a tourism expert Friday.

"This summer tourism season is better than last year but we wish the government was formed earlier to create momentum for this sector," Wadih Kenaan, head of the tourism committee at the Social and Economic Council, was quoted as saying by Elnashra, an independent online newspaper.

Kenaan said that Arab tourists increased by 20 percent in June 2018, according to tourism ministry statistics.

"As for European tourists, they have increased by 10 percent in June 2018 compared with the same month last year," he said.

Kenaan added that the festivals have attracted a lot of tourists and also Lebanese expatriates.

Meanwhile, the airport issued a statement earlier this month saying that the number of passengers at Rafic Hariri International Airport increased by 8.32 percent to 4.8 million in the first seven months of 2018, compared with the same period last year.