Tourists provide hope to battered Bethlehem

Tourism officials in Bethlehem, which was heavily impacted by worldwide travel restrictions during the epidemic, welcomed an inflow of tourists ahead of the Easter weekend.

“We are pleased with the amount of tourists visiting and expect this to continue throughout the year,” said Elias Al-Arja, head of the Arab Hotels Association and manager of the Bethlehem Hotel.

Bethlehem’s economy is heavily on on tourism, which has been crippled by the global COVID-19 outbreak.

“We had to close for two and a half years,” Al-Arja remarked.

Previously, almost 2.5 million tourists visited annually.

Departures from Bethlehem are now predominantly religious tourism for Easter, according to Al-Arja.

According to Al-Arja, up to 30% of religious travellers stay in Bethlehem hotels because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The city boasts 47 hotels with 4,500 rooms and 9,000 beds, and bookings for Easter are up 30%.

Hotels have remodelled and employed new employees in anticipation of increased visitor numbers.

Between April 15 and 25, Al-Arja and other Bethlehem hoteliers expect around 3,500 Egyptian religious travellers, around 2,500 less than usual.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism promotes religious tourism in the city and issues work licences to tourist facilities that conform with coronavirus procedures.

The Church of the Nativity and the Shepherds’ Field Chapel are both in Bethlehem. The city contains around 100 oriental antique stores, 400 workshops, restaurants, hotels, and shopping malls.

Tours of Palestinian settlements and the northern gate to Bethlehem, including drawings by international artist Banksy, are now available through Palestinian tourism organisers.