Tourism in Syria has been decimated by more than 17 months of deadly conflict, with hotel rooms once let to foreigners now often occupied by people who are refugees in their own country, official figures show.

Many hotel rooms in Damascus are now occupied not by tourists, but by displaced families

Revenue from tourism has plummeted 75.4 per cent since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad’s rule erupted, the prime minister’s office was quoted as saying by the government daily Tishrin on Wednesday.

The tourism ministry said the industry in 2010 accounted for 12 per cent of GDP, generating more than $6.5 billion and employing 11 per cent of the workforce.

But the anti-regime revolt, which began as a peaceful movement in March 2011 and has steadily militarised in the face of repression, has seen tourist numbers fall by a staggering 76.4 per cent and tourism jobs decline by nearly two thirds.

In an effort to halt the slide, Tourism Minister Hala Mohammed al-Nasser only last month suggestedthat Syrians holiday at home and that expatriates“spend their holidays in their country of origin”.

Nasser also stressed the importance of “religious tourism” only weeks before dozens of Iranians were kidnapped by rebels.

Many hotel rooms in Damascus are now occupied not by tourists, but by displaced families fleeing conflict in their hometowns or even neighbouring districts of the capital.

The sites that in the past made Syria a favoured tourist destination are themselves also under threat. According to Unesco, five of Syria’s six World Heritage sites have been affected by the fighting: Damascus, Palmyra, the Crac des Chevaliers crusader castle, the ancient northern villages (or Forgotten Cities) and Aleppo.