WEST BANK: Bedouin woman achieves rare success with resort in Jericho

Record ID: 565543

  • Title: WEST BANK: Bedouin woman achieves rare success with resort in Jericho
  • Date: 4th September 2014
  • Summary: JERICHO, WEST BANK (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF EXTERIOR OF 'PARADISE' RESORT CHILDREN SWIMMING IN POOL OWNER, NADIA MLIHAT, AT THE RESORT VARIOUS OF PEOPLE SEATED OUTDOORS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) OWNER OF RESORT, NADIA MLIHAT, SAYING: "For them (the women), I tell them nothing is impossible. Just like me, they can succeed. They will make it, if they have the intention and the determination. My family supported me, my husband, my children, and all my relatives stood by me. They assisted me to start a tourism project, of which I am the director." VARIOUS OF CHILDREN SWIMMING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) OWNER OF RESORT, NADIA MLIHAT, SAYING: "My message to the woman, specially the Bedouin woman, is that nothing is hard, nothing is impossible. They used to say that it's impossible that this business will succeed. Look at it -- it's successful." VARIOUS OF CHILDREN SWIMMING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) OWNER OF RESORT, NADIA MLIHAT, SAYING: "Thank god, we the project managers in Jericho, we depend on local tourism. Israeli Arabs, Nazareth, Jerusalem and Haifa.... these are the people who visit us. But if we speak about foreign tourism, it's not too much. I don't know the problem, maybe there is a lack of support from tourism authorities or maybe there is no investment in tourism. I really don't know." GENERAL DIRECTOR OF JERICHO'S CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, INDUSTRY AND AGRICULTURE, KAZEM AL-MOUQAT, IN OFFICE PALESTINIAN FLAGS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) GENERAL-DIRECTOR OF JERICHO'S CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, INDUSTRY AND AGRICULTURE, KAZEM AL-MOUQAT, SAYING: "The project of Mrs Mlihat, is an addition to the tourism projects in Jericho and the Jordan valley. It helps to support economic growth through attracting local tourism. It also helps in creating jobs for people in Jericho and the Jordan valley." VARIOUS OF MLIHAT WORKING AT THE RESORT RESORT VARIOUS OF PEOPLE AT RESORT (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) WORKER AT RESORT, FAKHRI SAADI, SAYING: "We as young men stood hand in hand by the owner of the resort Umm Hussam because she is running a resort which is not only a swimming pool resort, it offers several other services. If the director was a man, he couldn't have done what she did." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE AT THE PARADISE RESORT
  • Embargoed: 19th September 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: West bank
  • City:
  • Country: Palestinian Territories
  • Topics: Business,Industry,Travel / Tourism
  • Reuters ID: LVA2E5DNLN32R1QTITA2FXDGZNXA
  • Story Text: A Bedouin businesswoman breaks social taboos by running a successful tourist resort in the Palestinian town of Jericho .
    Nestled amid the palm-fringed landscapes of Jordan Valley is a fairly new tourist resort in Jericho town. The 'Paradise' resort in the Palestinian town now stands out as a model of success, especially for women, in the region.
    The resort was set up three years ago by businesswoman Nadia Mlihat, a Bedoiun from a community in which it is uncommon to find women striking out on their own.
    Mlihat says she owes her success to her family, and encourages Bedoiun women to aspire higher.
    "For them (the women), I tell them nothing is impossible. Just like me, they can succeed. They will make it, if they have the intention and the determination. My family supported me, my husband, my children, and all my relatives stood by me," Mlihat said.
    With Palestinian men increasingly finding it difficult to find work because of Israeli restrictions on movement of people and goods in and out of the Palestinian territories, many women have become breadwinners. But only 2.4 percent of registered Palestinian businesses are owned by women.
    For many of her supporters and relatives, Mlihat's success is considered remarkable, but it was not without its sceptics when she started.
    "My message to the woman, specially the Bedouin woman, is that nothing is hard, nothing is impossible. They used to say that it's impossible that this business will succeed. Look at it -- it's successful," she said.
    Bedouins are semi-nomadic communities, more accustomed to growing livestock than running resorts, but Mlihat had the resources to start out on her own. She inherited the land from her family, and decided to make use of it by launching a tourist resort on 4.25 acres of land.
    With 20 bedrooms, three swimming pools and a restaurant, 'Paradise' attracts tourists from Israeli-Arab and Palestinian towns, according to Mlihat.
    "We depend on the local tourism. Israeli Arabs, Nazareth, Jerusalem and Haifa.... these are the people who visit us. But if we speak about the foreign tourism, it's not too much," she said.
    The director-general of Jericho's chamber of commerce, industry and agriculture, Kazem Al-Mouqat said the project is a good source of employment in the oasis city.
    "The project of Mrs Mlihat, is an addition to the tourism projects in Jericho and the Jordan valley. It helps to support economic growth through attracting local tourism. It also helps in creating jobs for people in Jericho and the Jordan valley," he said.
    The resort employs 12 people, and Mlihat's staff speak highly of her work ethics.
    "We as young men stood hand in hand by the owner of the resort Umm Hussam because she is running a resort which is not only a swimming pool resort, it offers several other services. If the director was a man, he couldn't have done what she did," said Fakhri Saadi, who works at the resort.
    Mlihat's resort competes with three others in Jericho, the lowest city on the planet, some 400 metres (1,300 feet) below sea level. Mlihat says her resort started making profits two years ago.
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