Canceled tours, empty hotels: Israeli, Palestinian tourism reels as conflict escalates

BETHLEHEM/JERUSALEM — Early this month, the main square and streets around Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity were bustling with tourists. Now they are empty after a devastating attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Israel on Oct. 7. “Business is at a standstill since the war started,” said Essa Abu Dawoud, a tour guide in the Palestinian city. “The roads were cut off, no one is coming.” Across Israel and the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank, hotels have emptied and at least six companies have stopped trips to top destinations like Jerusalem and Tel Aviv as the conflict escalated. Two tour operators have called off trips until next year. Cruise ships are avoiding Israel’s once-bustling shores and major airlines have stopped flying to and from Israel, while governments have scrambled to get their citizens home. easyJet says it has canceled all packages to Tel Aviv due to depart before Oct. 22, while Virgin Atlantic Holidays has let holidaymakers rebook for later dates or get a refund if they’re traveling before Oct. 18. The assault by Hamas – designated a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union and other governments – on Israeli communities on Oct. 7 killed at least 1,300 people. Most were civilians, including children. Israel has intensified its strikes on Hamas’ stronghold Gaza in retaliation. InterContinental Hotels said two of its hotels, Six Senses Shaharut and Hotel Indigo Tel Aviv – Diamond District, were temporarily shut. It has seen some cancellations and some customers moving bookings to later in the year. With most of its hotels empty, one of Israel’s top chains, Isrotel, was “on the verge” of temporarily closing some, a spokesperson said. The exodus of foreign visitors is a big blow to Israel’s lucrative tourism industry, one of the country’s biggest, as it was recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. The sector accounts for 2.8% of GDP and about 3.5% of total employment. The coming months are the busiest of the year for Christian pilgrimages arriving from the United States, Britain and elsewhere in Europe. “We rely on tourism for living. We had the COVID crisis and we were still recovering and slowly waiting for the tourists to come back,” said Khader Hussein, 30, a souvenir seller in Bethlehem, the traditional birthplace of Jesus. “Now the tourism sector is dead.” Drawn by historical sites in Jerusalem and Bethlehem and Tel Aviv’s Read more at: inquirer

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