Palestine: Tourism trying to show another side of a country at war

LONDON – New Year’s is approaching. What’s on your travel bucket list? Still looking for a place to vacation in 2025? I went to the World Travel Market last month in London and met tourism officials from Tobago to Thailand. I found a place you might like. Homestays with friendly people. Fascinating history. Beautiful architecture. Great food. Good hiking. Warm weather. Off the beaten path. How would you feel about a holiday in …

… Palestine?

OK, where do you rank on the adventure meter? I rank quite high and after meeting with the marketing director of Palestine Tourism – yes, that exists – I was ready to hop on a plane and go.

However, I’d have to go through Jordan. Israel still controls its border with Palestine and the airport in Tel Aviv isn’t taking many flights these days. But then, what do you expect if you’re going to vacation in a war zone?

What I learned, however, is that all of Palestine is not dodging bombs. Most places of interest are still peaceful and under no danger despite Israeli attacks on some towns and refugee camps in the West Bank.

That Palestine is plucky enough to still promote tourism during this Gaza War, which has killed nearly 45,000 Palestinians, is enough for me to visit these proud, resilient people.  

Admittedly, on the world tourism radar, Palestine is hanging off the edge. I found the Palestine booth in the Middle East section of the massive ExCeL London convention center. England’s largest auditorium has 100,000 square meters (1 million square feet) of space, and inside it had booths from 185 different countries.

Saudi Arabia, which has pushed tourism since it opened its borders to outsiders in 2019, had a presence right out of a Hollywood film opening. Huge signs that wouldn’t look out of place in Las Vegas. Big, beautiful photos of the turquoise Red Sea. Music. Dances. Saudi snacks. Dozens of Saudi dignitaries hanging out in elegant robes and the traditional keffiyeh headscarves. 

Meanwhile, nearby stood Palestine’s display: a simple one-man booth with four small stacks of brochures and maps in front of a big aerial shot of East Jerusalem. Next to it was a floor-to-ceiling shot of a beautiful monastery atop a walled city on a hill.

Palestine’s tourism director

Majed Ishaq, 59, stood alone at the booth wearing a sharp gray business suit and black tie. Fit and bald with a thin moustache, the marketing director of the Palestine Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities is a Palestinian Christian. He lives in Beit Sahour, the town near East Jerusalem where, according to the Bible, angels announced the birth of Jesus Christ to a group of shepherds. The spot is marked by the Chapel of the Shepherds’ Field.

“I live two blocks from the field,” Ishaq said proudly.

Palestine’s promotion of Christian historical sites is part of its tourism push. All of Palestine is not Hamas. Palestine has opened its arms to let in the world, all the world and not just Muslims. The question is getting the word out. It helps to come to the second biggest travel fair in the world. 

But how do you promote tourism during a war?

“Because we believe that sooner or later we’ll have our own independence, our own freedom and the aggression against Gaza and Lebanon will end very soon, hopefully,” he said. “And then tourists will start coming back again to Palestine.”

Last year before the Gaza War began in October 2023, Palestine attracted 2.5 million tourists. Poland was its No. 1 market just ahead of the United States. All were attracted to Palestine’s biblical sites as well as its intriguing status as a non-member observer state of the United Nations yet recognized by 146 of the UN’s 193 countries.

Since the war began, however, Palestine tourism has dropped 98 percent. Ishaq said people come to his booth and cry.

“For tens of years we had problems,” Ishaq said. “We had an unstable security situation in Palestine but tourism didn’t stop. Pilgrimage didn’t stop. We believe now is the best time to promote Palestine for the period after the war.”

Safety

The most common question is how safe is Palestine? Most places outside Gaza appear safe. Keep in mind that Palestine consists of two parts: the West Bank, which is the long stretch of land primarily on the 300-mile (480-kilometer) Jordanian border and under Israeli occupation, and the Gaza Strip along the Mediterranean Sea where the fighting is taking place.

Gaza is 50 miles from the West Bank.

Even before the war, Palestine did not promote Gaza as it is under full Israeli control and not accessible to tourists. The lone tourists who’ve been killed in the region have been in Israel, not Palestine.

 I asked Ishaq what assurances he gives tourists for their safety.

“The assurances we give is our history,” he said. “If you Google it, you will not find any incident or accident happen to any tourist or pilgrim inside the Palestinian areas in the last 20 years despite all the challenges we’re facing and the difficult situation we’re living in. We’re still welcoming and hosting our tourists and pilgrims regardless of a tourist’s nationality.

“This is one of the advantages of our society.”

However, since August Israel has stepped up attacks in the West Bank. One attack in the towns of Jenin, Tulkarem and the Far’a refugee camp claimed 10 lives. Since the war began Oct. 7, 2023, according to Al Jazeera, 662 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and 5,400 injured.

I told Ishaq that I’d read about the Israeli military killing Palestinians in other refugee camps. 

“Inside refugee camps, yes,” he said. “But not in the tourist areas.”

Places to go

What tourist areas, you ask? Turns out, there are a lot. I took a slick 56-page brochure and thumbed through the list. I’d need at least a week to see it all. To wit:

East Jerusalem. Where Palestinians hope will be its capital one day, it has beautiful Islamic architecture and is a major center of Christianity. It houses the Via Dolorosa where Jesus walked on his way to his crucifixion; the Mount of Olives, a mountain ridge and home to many Christian shrines; and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where Jesus was said to be crucified, buried and rose from the dead.

Bethlehem. The birthplace of Jesus Christ where 70 percent of its GDP comes from tourism. No place in the world may be more symbolic to celebrate Christmas than in Bethlehem.

Jericho. Billed as the oldest inhabited city in the world, dating back 11,000 years. (Don’t bring this argument to Damascus). It’s the lowest point on earth at 250 meters below sea level, making the evenings enjoyable year round. 

Hebron. Home of the Ibrahimi Mosque, said to hold the remains of Abraham, the Biblical prophet, and his family. It’s famous for its glass and ceramic workshops.

Ramallah. Palestine’s administrative capital is a cosmopolitan city of 50,000 people with nightlife, restaurants, galleries and museums. 

Nablus. Located between two mountains in the north, it’s one of the world’s oldest Canaanite cities dating to 1750 B.C. It’s also one of the oldest Ancient Roman cities.

Reading about each site, I see the towns all have quaint historical centers with windy alleys and unique shops around every corner. It reminds me of Italy. Also, the countryside all through the West Bank has hiking trails along mountain ridges with great views of canyons, valleys and rolling hills dotted with villages.

Where to stay

Palestine tourism is also doing homestays. I’ve done them through AirBnB in countless countries and they are terrific insights into local cultures.

“We call it pro-Palestinian tourism,” Ishaq said. “It would be a mix of experiences based on getting close to the Palestinians and living with the Palestinians to get to know them, a first-hand experience to hear about their history, their culture, their narrative.”

He said homestays are attracting many Christians. They meet with families who accompany them to the local church, attend a mass and eat in their homes. Then they’d hear about the Palestines’ history, their struggles, their hopes.

Palestine has about 13,000 hotel rooms, about half of them in Bethlehem. Ishaq said Palestinians are not allowed to build hotels in East Jerusalem or even renovate an existing hotel. In Gaza, at least four hotels have been destroyed.

“I’m not sure,” he said, “because each day you have to pull up the last statistics.”

What I like about visiting Palestine is you don’t need a sanitized government-controlled guided tour. You can travel independently, just as I did in Saudi Arabia. The best route is flying into Amman, Jordan, then taking a bus about an hour to Jericho. The bus costs about $15.

Ishaq did not recommend flying to Tel Aviv.

“If you fly to Tel Aviv it’s very expensive,” Ishaq said. “I think you also need special insurance which is also very expensive because it’s a war zone.”

We shook hands and exchanged the traditional “Allahu akbar (God is great)” but before leaving to track down flights to Tobago I asked him what his hope is for the future.

“We still hope we will have our independence, our own state and East Jerusalem as our own capital,” he said. “This is very important. As a human being, as a Christian, my hope is to live in peace. Maybe I’m old now but for the future of my family, for the future of my sons and for the future of everybody in the region because what is happening is really unhuman. It’s not acceptable regardless of what you are, how you think and what you believe. What we saw on the news is really horrible. It’s threatening us. We are living in fear. 

“But we are still having hope and believe in God that this situation will end very soon.”