RESULTS OF RECENT ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN TOURISM

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 002849

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/30/2019
TAGS: ECON KWBG IS
SUBJECT: RESULTS OF RECENT ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN TOURISM
COOPERATION

Classified By: Acting Econ Counselor Julie Adams, for reasons 1.4 b/d

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Summary
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1. (SBU) Rafi Ben-Hur, Senior Deputy Director-General at the
Ministry of Tourism, briefed Econoff on the recent
Israeli-Palestinian Joint Tourism Committee (JTC) meeting and
on plans for coordinated Israeli-Palestinian tourism
initiatives. Ben-Hur stressed the importance of joint
efforts to market Israel and the Palestinian territories as
the "Holy Land," to re-brand the region in a positive light.
GOI tourism cooperation plans focus on "fighting terrorism
with tourism," by building relationships and improving
economic conditions. Ben-Hur hopes that a ministerial-level
meeting between the GOI and the PA can promote further
government-to-government dialog and cooperation. End Summary.

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Christmas in Bethlehem a success
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2. (SBU) Ben-Hur said that preparations for the Christmas
festivities in Bethlehem were a key point discussed at the
JTC. He was happy to report to Econoff that the preparations
were adequate and that the festivities had been a success,
boasting that there is "no border when it comes to
Bethlehem." According to the Israeli Ministry of Tourism,
more than 70,000 people attended the Christmas Eve
celebrations in Bethlehem, and over 100,000 visited the town
over Christmas weekend. Ben-Hur said that all relevant
checkpoints had been opened, and that there wasn't a free bed
in Bethlehem's hotels during the Christmas season.

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The "Holy Land" campaign begins
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3. (C) Ben-Hur described a new Israeli-led tourism effort to
promote visits to the "Holy Land" instead of Israel or the
Palestinian territories separately. The GOI believes that
this inclusive marketing will help to counteract "talking
against the product" by both Israelis and Palestinians (i.e.,
Israelis claiming Palestinian cities are too dangerous to
visit, and Palestinians publicizing crossing point hassles
--both of which dissuade potential tourists from visiting the
region). To launch this campaign, the Israeli Ministry of
Tourism invited the heads of the Christian communities in
Israel and the Palestinian territories to a December 17th
reception. Also in attendance were various representatives
from the Israeli and Palestinian private tourism sector,
including the chairman of hoteliers in Bethlehem. Ben-Hur
said that the PA was not invited to this event, because he
had learned during "unofficial" meetings that no senior PA
tourism representative would attend due to the lack of
progress on the PA list of deliverables raised at the JTC.
The Israeli Tourism Ministry hosted a similar reception in
Nazareth on December 24th. (Note: We have seen similar
independent initiatives around the country to promote joint
visits to Israel and the Palestinian territories that are not
being coordinated through the ministries. For instance,
Daniel Atar, Mayor of the Gilboa Regional Council, described
to Econoffs on December 29 collaborative regional efforts to
launch a tourism campaign to market multiple-day tours of the
Gilboa region, Nazareth, and Jenin. End Note).

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Politicking impedes progress at JTC
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4. (C) Despite this good news, Ben-Hur was discouraged that
the Palestinian Authority representatives used the December
15 JTC as a political forum instead of focusing on concrete
action items to promote future success. He said, for
instance, that the PA officials opened the East Jerusalem
meeting by making a point that they were happy to be meeting
"in the capital of the Palestinian people." Ben-Hur
perceived these and similar comments as counterproductive and
as justifying why the GOI Tourism Ministry focuses its
efforts with the Palestinian private sector. According to
Ben-Hur, the Palestinian private sector expresses many of the
same demands as the PA, but is more willing to work on
problem-solving. Overall, though, Ben-Hur characterized the
meeting -- which he co-chaired -- as having good atmospherics
and being useful, since the bilateral
government-to-government dialogue is also critical to
progress on tourism issues. Further, Ben-Hur noted
complaints he received from other GOI officials after the
meeting regarding the presence of an OQR observer at what
they viewed to be a bilateral meeting; OQR might not be
invited to observe the next JTC meeting.

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A tourism ministerial: the next step?
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5. (C) Ben-Hur sees a GOI-PA tourism ministerial meeting as
the next step in the bilateral Israeli-Palestinian government
dialogue and as an opportunity to announce progress on JTC
discussion points. The GOI proposed this ministerial at the
JTC, but the Palestinians said they would be unwilling to
participate until there is further progress. For example,
Ben-Hur said the Palestinians demanded more licenses for
Palestinian tour operators to guide in Jerusalem/Israel.
Ben-Hur pointed out that the current 42 permits grandfathered
to Palestinian tour guides have drawn severe criticism by
non-Arab Israeli tour operators and drivers who are not
allowed to operate in the Palestinian territories for
security reasons. Ben-Hur told EconOffs in a previous
meeting that the ethnic-based discrimination (Israeli Arabs
vs. "Jews and Druze") which allows some Israeli tour guides
to enter the West Bank to work, but not others, was causing a
rift within the profession, which is highly regarded and
well-regulated in Israel. To move forward on this issue, the
Israeli Ministry of Tourism has submitted a proposal to COGAT
requesting permission for non-Arab Israeli tour guides and
drivers to operate in Bethlehem and Jericho (according to
Ben-Hur this plan has Palestinian support). If this plan is
approved, Ben-Hur said that he would have the political cover
needed to issue more Palestinian tour-guide permits for
Green-line Israel (since there would be a quid-pro-quo),
which, in turn, would satisfy the condition needed for a
ministerial meeting. Ben-Hur provided no time-frame for a
COGAT decision. Separately, COGAT has told Econoffs that,
because the GOI is unable to provide security for Israeli
citizens in the West Bank, it is extremely unlikely that the
GOI will approve this proposal.
CUNNINGHAM