WEST BANK-CHRISTMAS/TOURISM Jerusalem tension keeping tourists away - Palestinian tourism minister

Record ID: 565685

  • Title: WEST BANK-CHRISTMAS/TOURISM Jerusalem tension keeping tourists away - Palestinian tourism minister
  • Date: 2nd December 2014
  • Summary: BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK (NOVEMBER 29, 2014) (REUTERS) TOURISTS AT MANGER SQUARE VARIOUS OF TOURISTS POSING FOR PHOTO VARIOUS OF TOURISTS ENTERING CHURCH OF NATIVITY BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK (DECEMBER 1, 2014) (REUTERS) PALESTINIAN MINISTRY OF TOURISM AND ANTIQUITIES BUILDING SIGN READING IN ARABIC AND ENGLISH: "MINISTRY OF TOURISM AND ANTIQUITIES" PALESTINIAN MINISTER OF TOURISM AND ANTIQUITIES, RULA MA'AYAH, TALKING TO REPORTER PHOTO OF JERUSALEM'S OLD CITY (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN MINISTER OF TOURISM AND ANTIQUITIES, RULA MA'AYAH, SAYING: "What is happening in Jerusalem makes many tourists fear visiting, but we hope those that cancel their visit to Palestine don't go elsewhere because there is nothing quite like Palestine." VARIOUS OF PHOTO OF JERUSALEM'S OLD CITY (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN MINISTER OF TOURISM AND ANTIQUITIES, RULA MA'AYAH, SAYING: "The most important places for tourists when visiting this region are Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Particularly Jerusalem because it's the most important city in the Christian world and those who come as pilgrims to Palestine come to visit Jerusalem. But what we see on a daily basis, whether from the Israeli occupation forces or settlers, makes some tourists afraid and prevents them from visiting Palestine at this time." BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK (NOVEMBER 29, 2014) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF EXTERIOR OF THREE ARCHES SOUVENIR SHOP TOURISTS AT SHOP VARIOUS OF OWNER OF SOUVENIRS SHOP, MAHER KANAWATI, SELLING HIS PRODUCTS SOUVENIRS CARVED OUT OF OLIVE WOOD (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) OWNER OF SOUVENIR SHOP, MAHER KANAWATI, SAYING: "Merchants like us have seen a decline (in the tourism sector) after the war on Gaza and unfortunately we hear about cancellations for the next year because of what is happening in Jerusalem. But we hope things will calm down in Jerusalem and it will become peaceful so tourists can resume making bookings to visit." VARIOUS OF TOURISTS BUYING SOUVENIRS MORE OF SOUVENIRS CARVED OUT OF WOOD FROM OLIVE TREE BRANCHES (SOUNDBITE) (English) TOURIST FROM INDONESIA, JEANNE MARCIA ADNAN, SAYING: "May be I always hear from the news about what happens actually and the bombs, and like that, but so far it is the tenth time for me to go. I feel so safe, nothing happens." VARIOUS OF BELL TOWER JERUSALEM (NOVEMBER 18, 2014) (REUTERS) PALESTINIANS RUNNING AS ISRAELI BORDER POLICE ARRIVE IN AREA, FIRE STUN GRENADES VARIOUS OF POLICE FIRING TEAR GAS, STUN GRENADES TEAR GAS POLICE MAKING ARREST BORDER POLICE STANDING ON ROOF OF HOUSE POLICE MAKING ARRESTS
  • Embargoed: 17th December 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA9DRWBQF4VSCIA1LG1QJHW6WRT
  • Story Text: As Christmas approaches Christians across the world turn their attention to the holy city of Jerusalem, but Palestinians are worried a recent surge in violence will keep the traditional influx of pilgrims and tourists away.
    The Palestinian tourism industry has been consistently on the rise in recent years as well as the first part of 2014.
    But Palestinian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Rula Ma'ayah, told Reuters TV the sector has been affected by a recent series of unrest.
    "What is happening in Jerusalem makes many tourists fear visiting, but we hope those that cancel their visit to Palestine don't go elsewhere because there is nothing quite like Palestine," she said.
    Violence in Jerusalem and other areas of Israel and the Palestinian Territories has surged in the past few months.
    In July, a Palestinian youth was burned to death by Jewish attackers, allegedly in revenge for the killing of three Israeli teens by Palestinian militants in the occupied West Bank in June.
    A 50-day war that began in July between Israel and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip resulted in the deaths of more than 2,100 Palestinians, many of them civilians, as well as 67 Israeli soldiers and six civilians on the Israeli side.
    Tensions have also risen in past weeks over access to a Jerusalem holy site where al Aqsa mosque now stands and Biblical Jewish Temples once stood.
    Attacks carried out by Palestinians have killed 11 Israelis, and 12 Palestinians have also been killed, including several of the assailants.
    "The most important places for tourists when visiting this region are Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Particularly Jerusalem because it's the most important city in the Christian world and those who come as pilgrims to Palestine come to visit Jerusalem. But what we see on a daily basis, whether from the Israeli occupation forces or settlers, makes some tourists afraid and prevents them from visiting Palestine at this time," Ma'ayah said.
    Tourism is a major source of revenue for the Palestinian economy - around 5,000 families in Bethlehem alone depend on it and it accounts for 14 percent of the national economy as a whole.
    With declining rates of tourism come declining sales of souvenirs.
    Maher Kanawati, who owns a souvenir shop in Bethlehem, said he hopes for stability.
    "Merchants like us have seen a decline (in the tourism sector) after the war on Gaza and unfortunately we hear about cancellations for the next year because of what is happening in Jerusalem. But we hope things will calm down in Jerusalem and it will become peaceful so tourists can resume making bookings to visit," he said.
    But not everyone is deterred by the reports of violence. One Indonesian tourist on her tenth visit to Jerusalem said she felt safe.
    "May be I always hear from the news about what happens actually and the bombs, and like that, but so far it is the tenth time for me to go. I feel so safe, nothing happens," said Jeanne Marcia Adnan.
    Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built in the place where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified, entombed and resurrected, is one of Jerusalem's many points of pilgrimage.
    The main attraction in Bethlehem in the West Bank is the 4th century Church of the Nativity, built over a grotto where Christian tradition says Jesus was born.
    The Christmas season in the holy city lasts until the end of Eastern Orthodox Christmas on January 7 and Armenian Christmas on January 18.
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