As Bombs Fall on Beirut, Tourism Booms Uphill

— -- While Hezbollah and Israel bomb each other, tourism booms in some parts of Lebanon.

It's just for all the wrong reasons.

Moneyed Beirutis and the few foreigners left have fled the city and the Lebanese lowlands.

They've moved uphill to the ski resorts and vacation hotels in the mountains above Beirut, far from the shells and Katushya rockets falling in other parts of the country.

The result is an eerie boon to business for restaurants, bars and nightclubs -- guests lounging in the summer sun, clouded by fears of war and an uncertain future.

Lebanese-Canadian Johnny Kairouz, 25, was playing pool with friends in the mountain enclave of Bcharre when he said to ABC News, "Things are normal here, but there is a feeling of malaise."

"It's a calm area with plenty of food, water, and electricity," he said. "But people are worrying about their future, the jobs."

During Lebanon's 15 years of civil war, it was common practice to seek safety in the mountains, largely Christian territories that were cool in summer and snowcapped in winter.

Today, with missiles flying across the Israeli border, history is repeating itself.

Much like those days, the pleasant safety of the hills is only available to those with the money to pay for it.

Mountain resorts and suburban hotels that usually cater to Arabs and Europeans are full with a Lebanese clientele fleeing Beirut and southern Lebanon.

Hotels in the hills have reached capacity and have taken on waiting lists for rooms that cost up to $300 a night.

Some hotels are even offering a wartime discount: up to 30 percent off their rates.

Some of those filled to capacity have even helped families find nearby apartments or other hotel rooms where occupancy is lower.

Bars and nightclubs have also filled up.

Joe Zarifeh, who owns the Moods bar in the hillside city of Broummana, says business is better than ever. With everyone uphill and Beirut shut down by war, his bar has become the main event in town.