Tourism
Locals, tourists and believers mingle on Via Dolorosa on Good Friday.
Tourism presents a strategic avenue for just peace advocacy in Palestine and Israel. PIEF has worked to promote pilgrimages of transformation by supporting the establishment of guidelines and a Code of Conduct for Tourism in the Holy Land based on biblical perspectives.
PIEF is part of a growing movement of people and groups in Palestine, Israel and around the world that share the conviction that pilgrimages to The Holy Land should seek encounters with local Palestinian Christians as a response to the call of the gospel to "come and see". Thus, pilgrims themselves can be transformed and become instruments for and witnesses to peace and justice upon their return.
Resources and links
Guidelines for Christians Contemplating a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land - A Journey for Peace with Justice
Written by a group of theologians, Palestinian Christian activists and professionals in the tourism industry, these guidelines are a call to Christian pilgrims to live their faith as they visit the Holy Land.
A pilgrimage, they suggest, should go beyond an homage to ancient sites. Visitors should seek authentic, face-to-face human encounters with the people living in the Holy Land, especially the Palestinian Christians – the “Living Stones” who share their faith.
The guidelines contain tools including Biblical reflection and a Code of Conduct for Tourists in the Holy Land to help plan and prepare – practically and spiritually – a "pilgrimage of transformation".
Download the guidelines from the Alternative Tourism Group website (pdf)
The Nativity Trail
Leading from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the Nativity Trail provides and opportunity to walk in the footsteps of Mary and Joseph, calling in on monasteries and mosques, villagers' homes and bedouin tents. The hikes are organized by the Siraj Center for Holy Land Studies and the Alternative Tourism Group (ATG), and led by professional local guides.
"The Nativity Trial is not just a trip; it is a journey of dialogue, openness and interaction with new people."
Visit the ATG website for more information
Statement on the International Tourism Conference – Jerusalem, March 29-31, 2011
A group of Palestinian 170 NGOs has highlighted the fact that the scheduled International Tourism under the aegis of the Israeli government and its departments and agencies should be boycotted because of Israel’s ongoing violations of human rights and international law against Palestinians. In a letter to prominent participants’ they argue that “an occupying power which has been involved in entrenching a process of de-development and decimating economic prospects in the occupied Palestinian territory should not be allowed to preach to the world about the “latest industry buzz topics ranging from economic sustainability, hotel design, culture and media to aviation, technology, branding concepts and conference tourism,”[2] especially whilst this same power denies not only this information but also the most fundamental rights to millions of Palestinians under its colonial rule – not to mention the millions of Palestinian refugees still denied their right of return to their homes. Read the full statement
Palestine requires a wider base of transformational pilgrims
Twenty tourism activists from around the world gathered together in Bonn, Germany to consider how they could carry forward the Guidelines for Pilgrimages for Transformation and the Code of Ethics for travellers to The Holy Land to a wider audience with a more insistent and pro-active marketing strategy. Read more...
Responding to the Palestinian Christian Call to “Come and see”
Alternative Tourism group (ATG) invites you to a journey of truth and transformation that will reveal the love of God to you through the eyes of the Palestinian people who, despite having suffered decades of occupation and dispossession-- maintain their dignity, faith, and capacity for hope. Read more..
The global image of Palestine through international tourism
This study primarily focuses on the causes and manifestations of why Palestine has got a very small share in the world tourism market. It analyzes why several guide books make tourism in Israel is put as a priority for visitors. This despite the fact that the West Bank forms 21% of the Israeli and Palestinian territories together, and the Gaza strip is not even mentioned! The study concludes that despite difficulties and lack of transparency in international advertisements, tourism in Palestine is very important economically, interesting for pilgrims as well for those who desire to understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But it is most crucial for recreating an image of the country in the world and printing the steps of the nation through history during the long conflict and the Palestinian cause which had become a part of its identity in the collective memory worldwide. Read more...
Marketing the Guidelines and the Code of Conduct for Pilgrimages
There is no country on earth that monopolizes tourism the same way Israel does. Israel knows that tourism is its window to the world: a first, powerful glimpse onto the image it wishes to project, as well as a way to shape and control this image. In this sense, tourism is also a tool that Israel uses to market itself as a civilized democratic country.
Most countries use tourism to market themselves; when it comes to this general purpose, I don’t mind too much. But, in the case of Israel, its strategy is not to market itself; rather, it works to demonize the Palestinians, vilifying their narrative and stripping them of the places, resources and rights involved in telling it. During the past decades, Israel has actively prevented Palestinians from taking the initiative, let alone the lead, in its own tourism. Indeed, how could they, given that Israel controls all borders and maintains exclusive authority over who can enter and travel about -- and who can’t?
Rifat Kassis, General Coordinator of Kairos Palestine, presents a 20-point approach to what a ‘Kairos pilgrimage’ must look alike. He first sets out the context of the tourism in The Holy Land. He argues that “here is no country on earth that monopolizes tourism the same way Israel does. Read more...
Spirituality through tourism
What makes such a trek a must-do when you visit Palestine? The Nativity Trail is an opportunity to understand the geopolitical situation in the Holy Land by observing it while walking through the valleys and mountains of Palestine. It gives the participants the chance to have a firsthand experience of the situation on the ground. The Nativity Trial is not just a trip; it is a journey of dialogue, openness and interaction with new people. Read more...
See the sites from the eyes of the Palestinians
Often the tourist realizes that she/he has missed out on reality a bit late on their tour. For example, they will have realized only after the Israeli guided tour that they probably got a one-sided picture and had missed out on what the Palestinians territories had to offer. In short, but instructive and eye-opening tours, ATG has used one-day tours coupled with creative; out-of-the-box approaches tours. These take travellers to Jerusalem Old City Walking Tour | Greater Jerusalem Tour | Bethlehem and Hebron. Groups and individuals who take these ‘tours less taken’ have often returned to Palestine for an authentic encounter with history and current circumstances especially in Palestinian territories. Read more...
“Palestine & Palestinians”
This guidebook provides an in-depth, updated journey through the entire range of Palestinian culture: ancient and modern history, archaeology, religion, architecture and politics, including the daily realities of Israeli Occupation. It describes places rooted in Palestinian memory: sites which bear witness to a history and identity created from contact with civilisations of the Middle East, Mediterranean, Europe and Arab Peninsula. It also presents the contemporary tragedy and struggle of a people seeking recognition of their rights and details of their ongoing search for an end to injustice through a viable peace and statehood.
A great variety of documentary material, biographies of culturally significant personalities, poems, popular songs and recommended reading list provide readers with opportunities to broaden their horizons, while many contacts provide a range of possibilities for talks or tours with specialists, or meetings with local people in their homes.
Palestine and Palestinians presents a version of justice tourism to enhance the world’s increasing interest in the cause of the Palestinian people while providing tools to go beyond misleading stereotypes. Read more..
Palestine: Tourism's Denied Potential
PLO Negotiations Affairs Department issued in a press release the fact sheet entitled "Destination Palestine: Tourism's Denied Potential" Read more...
The Palestinians & Justice Tourism- Another Tourism is Possible
In Palestine, there is a need to develop a justice tourism product that can compete against the Israeli dominated mass tourism industry that now exists, and compete on the international market. This can be achieved through a focus on alternative programs and the development of better infrastructure. This will attract visitors to stay longer and to spend more time in the country. The tourism product should be broadened to include special interest holidays and theme tours, hiking, camping and adventure tours, all of which should include conferences and meetings with local people. An improved image for Palestine needs to be created by better advertising tourism and recreational opportunities in Palestine. The main goal of justice tourism in Palestine is to ensure sustainable economic, social, and cultural development based on the preservation, maintenance, and enhancement of Palestine's cultural heritage. If these goals are pursued, both travellers and their Palestinian hosts will reap huge benefits. Read more...
Responding to the Palestinian Christian Call to “Come and see”
Alternative Tourism group (ATG) invites you to a journey of truth and transformation that will reveal the love of God to you through the eyes of the Palestinian people who, despite having suffered decades of occupation and dispossession-- maintain their dignity, faith, and capacity for hope. Read more...
Combatting dispossession- Towards a code of Ethics for Tourism in Palestine
It is argued that "Tourism aims at bringing nations closer". The story of Palestinian tourism is different. It is one in which Israeli authority denies access to Palestinian sites as yet another way of throttling the Palestinian economy and blocking access to the truth about the real situation in the Occupied Territories.
This report presents the papers and main discussions at the seminar held in Madaba where church leaders and tourism activists worked together to create a Code of ethics for tourism in Palestine. Read more...
Resolution 292: Holy Land Tours
From the Book of Resolutions of The United Methodist Church 2008, pp. 767-769.
Copyright © 2008, The United Methodist Publishing House, used by permission.
For many years, some Palestinian Christians have expressed deep dismay that too many United Methodists and other Christian groups traveling to Israel/Palestine, also called the Holy Land, have missed an extraordinary opportunity for ecumenical fellowship and sharing with other followers of the Prince of Peace. Our Christian sisters and brothers indigenous to the area continue to wonder why they are so often ignored by Christian pilgrims to the region. Why, they ask, do travelers tend to honor the inanimate stones that testify to Jesus‟ life and ministry while ignoring the "living stones," the indigenous Christians who represent an unbroken line of discipleship to Jesus in the land that he called home? Read more...
Join ICHAD Alternative Tours of Israel and Palestine
Thousands of people from around the world have undergone top-quality alternative and critical tours for over 15 years through the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD). The tours are defined by its standards - widely known for its knowledgeable tour guides, its grounded approach to the politics of Occupation, and the difficulties of Palestinian life. On ICAHD tours travellers see how Israel’s settlement project has created irreversible “facts on the ground.” A traveller will better appreciate what a truly just and lasting peace would entail. One gets to meet Palestinian families suffering under Israeli policies of separation and home demolitions. ICAHD believes that first-hand learning is the only way to grasp the social, cultural, political, and historical issues that underlie the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
http://www.icahd.org/tours
ICAHD tour guides provide tours in seven different languages: English, Arabic, Hebrew, German, Portugese, Spanish, and French.
Forbidden Pilgrimage
This film features Palestinian Christians sharing the many road blocks that pilgrims to sites associated with the life of Jesus face. It makes a useful resource who want to understand the problems that tour operators and the general public in Palestine in conveying their narrative of life in the Holy Land.View film
Tourism as a tool to erase Palestinian identity To the Palestinians, this systematic obliteration, Judaization, annexation and confiscation of Palestinian sites, are attempt to take away their connection to the land and its history, in the process impinging on their right to self-determination, freedom, independence, and ebbing at the construction of their national identity.Read more
The global image of Palestine through international tourism
This study primarily focuses on the causes and manifestations of why Palestine has got a very small share in the world tourism market. It analyzes why several guide books make tourism in Israel is put as a priority for visitors. This despite the fact that the West Bank forms 21% of the Israeli and Palestinian territories together, and the Gaza strip is not even mentioned! The study concludes that despite difficulties and lack of transparency in international advertisements, tourism in Palestine is very important economically, interesting for pilgrims as well for those who desire to understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But it is most crucial for recreating an image of the country in the world and printing the steps of the nation through history during the long conflict and the Palestinian cause which had become a part of its identity in the collective memory worldwide. Read more on the ATG website
The Kairos pilgrimage- putting the accent on a Palestinian narrative
In this paper, Rifat Kassis, General Coordinator of Kairos Palestine, presents a 20-point approach to what a ‘Kairos pilgrimage’ must look alike. He first sets out the context of the tourism in The Holy Land. He argues that “here is no country on earth that monopolizes tourism the same way Israel does. Read more...
Lost revenue from tourism to the Palestinian economy
Among the various branches of the Palestinian economy, tourism holds a central position. While this relatively small country does not possess abundant natural resources or thriving industry, it is rich in historical and religious sites, while boasting an appealing climate. Palestinian and international economists often refer to tourism as one of the only areas in which Palestine possesses a competitive advantage .Freedom from Israeli domination would be incomplete unless the Palestinian economy was developed sufficiently to sever its ties of dependency, thereby allowing Palestinians the economic options to choose their own future. Development of tourism potential in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT) is a topic, therefore, that touches on some of the key issues pertaining to Palestinian freedom. Read more...
A compilation of agencies which offer a “Come and See visit”
"In order to understand our reality, we say to the Churches: Come and see."
(Kairos Palestine document)
Agencies listed below follow the code of conduct for tourism in the Holy Land and offer different kinds of opportunities to experience aspects of everyday life in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories and to meet people on both sides of the conflict.
Alternative Tourism Group: Code of conduct for tourism in the Holy Land
Amos Trust: Tours aim to give an understanding of what life is like in the Holy Land today; meet local people; visit the historic and biblical sites; see the “facts on the ground” and experience Palestinian hospitality.
www.amostrust.org/travel
Come and See: A Call from Palestinian Christians
A journey for peace with Justice; guidelines for Christians contemplating a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
EAPPI: Placements can be visited by contacting
www.eappi.org
Friends of Sabeel UK: Sabeel organise Witness Trips each year to Israel/Palestine to: visit the biblical sites; engage with the political and theological issues; meet Palestinians in their own environment; read and discuss the bible together; and learn more of how all of these issues affect the lives of the the Palestinians, the Christians especially.
For more info please get in touch with Friends of Sabeel UK at: info@friendsofsabeel.org.uk
Website: www.friendsofsabeel.org.uk
Green Olive Tours: Social enterprise agency providing a wide range of tours that benefit the local community.
Israeli Committee against House Demolition (ICAHD): Offers a range of half-day, day, and longer tours, also involvement in rebuilding Palestinian homes that have been demolished.
Joint Advocacy initiative (JAI) of the east Jerusalem YMCA and YWCA of Palestine:
Olive planting and picking tours.
Olive Co-operative
Tours, travel advice, Arabic courses, and listing a wide range of agencies offering tours.
Palestinian initiative for responsible tourism: A network of organizations advocating responsible tourism in the holy land. See their updated list of resources and groups.
Travel Palestine: The official Website for tourism in Palestine.
www.travelpalestine.ps
Visit Palestine: Organising pilgrimages, business tours, and cultural and alternative tours.
Zaytoun: Olive harvest tours and olive picking trips in October/November.
www.zaytoun.org/harvest/about-the-harvest
Source: http://www.kairospalestine.org.uk/news_trips_to_palestine_israel_10952.aspx
Israel's ‘Bible Trail’: Demolishing Palestinian homes to make national parks
It has become inevitable that Israel will do whatever it takes to steal land from Palestinians for its own profits. Thousands of Dunums have been stolen from Palestinians to create colonies for Israeli’s within the West Bank. However, the new trend of using heritage and tourism to do so is becoming more alarming. It is with religious claims that Israel is using heritage and tourism to pave way for settler land grab. This gives the tourism sector yet another propaganda asset and make-believe notion of how well Israel is endowed and the risks to these ancient sites by 'dangerous' Palestinians.
http://us5.campaign-archive2.com/?u=89dfc4b63b0bd1ad938811ded&id=4873a0ef31
