GHLands : Jerusalem – Two Jerusalem-based tourism experts have emphasized that the city's tourism sector is facing unprecedented challenges amid the ongoing war and its far-reaching repercussions across the region. They stressed that safeguarding Jerusalem's Palestinian cultural identity and supporting incoming tourism are essential pillars for sustaining the city's economy and strengthening the resilience of its residents.
Raed Saadeh, Chairman of the Jerusalem Tourism Cluster and former President of the Arab Hotel Association, said the current challenges require intensified efforts to preserve and promote Jerusalem's Palestinian cultural and historical identity, particularly in the Old City, which, he said, has been subjected to sustained attempts to alter its historical and cultural character.
Saadeh explained that tourism stakeholders have worked for years to organize initiatives and cultural activities aimed at reinforcing Jerusalem's heritage. However, the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by successive wars and regional conflicts, has pushed the sector back to square one. At the same time, he noted, efforts to introduce Talmudic narratives and programs at the city's tourist, archaeological, and religious sites have intensified.
He pointed out that Jerusalem embodies two complementary identities that should both be promoted. The first is its religious identity, reflected in the steady flow of Christian and Muslim pilgrims through incoming tourism agencies, amid growing competition among different parties to present Jerusalem as a religious destination through competing historical and cultural narratives.
The second, he said, is the city's Palestinian cultural and civilizational identity. Saadeh called for integrating elements of Palestinian heritage—including traditional dress, cuisine, historical narratives, and Palestinian tourist attractions—into tourism programs in order to strengthen visitors' experiences and reinforce the Palestinian narrative.
For his part, tourism consultant and expert Tony Khouram, former President of the Incoming Tourism Association, described incoming tourism as the "lifeline" of Jerusalem's Arab economy, noting that the city's economic activity depends heavily on international visitors.
Khouram stressed that maintaining a vibrant tourism sector is one of the key factors enabling Palestinians to remain steadfast in Jerusalem. He presented figures illustrating the scope of the city's tourism services sector, which includes 42 registered incoming tourism agencies employing 273 people, 21 hotels with approximately 1,100 rooms and 386 employees, and 12 guesthouses offering 458 rooms and employing 197 staff members.
He added that the sector also includes 298 licensed tourist guides, 23 tourist restaurants employing 147 workers, 260 tourist buses providing jobs for 529 employees, and 324 souvenir shops employing 403 people. In addition, the industry supports nine ceramic workshops, 15 Palestinian jewelry workshops, as well as leather and silver workshops.
Khouram noted that these figures do not include the owners and employees of small and medium-sized businesses that indirectly support the tourism industry, such as suppliers of food and beverages, cleaning products, fuel, water, electricity, maintenance services, air-conditioning technicians, and construction workers. He emphasized that any decline in tourism has immediate and far-reaching consequences for Jerusalem's broader economy.
The two experts concluded by stressing the importance of continuing efforts to preserve Jerusalem's Palestinian identity and support its tourism sector, describing it as one of the city's most important sources of economic resilience and a key factor in strengthening the steadfastness of its Palestinian residents in the face of ongoing challenges.
No comments:
Post a Comment