 The new Palestinian tourism minister is planning to overhaul the image of the Palestinian areas in order to attract more tourists and boost the number of visitors.
Newly appointed minister Khuloud Daibes said one of the main plans was to focus on marketing in order to “put Palestine back on the world tourism map.” This would require a lot of lobbying, she said, because many countries advise against traveling to the West Bank, labeling it dangerous.
Daibes, a Christian, is an independent in the Hamas-dominated Palestinian cabinet and is one of two female ministers in the unity government.
| Shouldn't she be in a burqa? Why is she outside her home? Is she lecturing people of the Master Religion™? |
Ahead of the Easter holiday, Daibes told The Media Line the number of incoming refugees tourists had increased, especially with regard to visitors to Bethlehem and Jericho.
However, she said this did not necessarily entail increased income to the Palestinian tourism sector. Usually, tourists visit the religious and archeological sites for two or three hours, then spend the night in Israeli hotels, she said.
| Any idea why that might be? |
“We would like to lengthen the stay of tourists in the Palestinian areas, in Bethlehem Jericho and other cities, in order to achieve some benefits for the local community, especially in this difficult economic situation,” Daibes said.
| "And the gun sex is so lovely this time of year!" she added. |
 The number of tourists to the Palestinian areas went down drastically after violence broke out between Israelis and Palestinians at the end of the year 2000. There has been an increase in tourists and pilgrims since then, but it is still down 60 percent compared to the year 2000.
There has been no official cooperation between the Palestinians and the Israelis in the field of tourism since Hamas was elected to power in January 2006. Cooperation over the past year was reduced to individual initiatives by the private sector in order to avoid reaching a total standstill in incoming tourism, Daibes said. However, she pointed out that this was limited because the Palestinian private sector accounts for only 2% of the tourism revenue.
| Mostly because there's no such thing as a 'Palestinian private sector'. |
Daibes urged Palestinians to give more attention to Christians living in the Palestinian areas.
| Yaaaasss, you should soil your hands by dealing with the dhimmis. Good idea. |
“Tourism is a tool to build a bridge to Crusaders Christians all around the world with the Christian Palestinians living here. It’s a major resource for economic development and it will help all Palestinians suffering from economic stagnation from the Palestinian Israeli conflict,” she said. |