The Net Forum

Statement of Hani Abu Dayyeh to the Tourism Group on the Occasion of its 5th Anniversary at the European Parliament, Brussels, February 3, 1994

BUILDING TOURISM, BUILDING PEACE

The Next Steps To Be Taken 

Good Afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen. 

On September 23^rd, 1993, the Ministers responsible for tourism in the countries of the Mediterranean Basin and the Representative of the Commission of the European Communities made a declaration on tourism within sustainable development. I think that it is pertinent at this time to mention a few of the most salient points: 

• Tourism is a prime economic activity of most of the countries of the Mediterranean Basin. It constitutes a determinant factor in development, co-operation and peace among the peoples of the Basin and their neighbors.
• Tourism can only evolve harmoniously within a vision of development which is sustainable. It must be conceived and managed as an activity which respects customs and traditions of the host countries and which is globally beneficial to them and their environment.
• There is a close relationship and interdependence among tourism, the infrastructures of transport and communication, urbanization, as well as marine, agricultural, industrial and commercial activities, along with technology and innovative research.
• There is a responsibility of both the host countries in the Mediterranean Basin and the tourism-generating countries in managing human and natural resources toward the development of tourism.
• The continuous development of tourism is an economic necessity. This can only be done within the framework of real international co-operation at the level of the Mediterranean Basin.

This whole document is important to us not only as the first international tourism agreement signed by the Palestinians, but also because Israel is one of the co-signatories. As such, this document provides the foundation for future discussions between the Palestinians and the Israelis to further co-operation toward sustainable tourism development in our region.

Tourism is a very important economic sector for us as Palestinians, for the same reasons that a lot of countries are trying to develop and promote this vital sector. These reasons were put succinctly by Mr. Fouad Sultan, the Ex-Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation of Egypt:

" Tourism will be a key contributor to national income, growth, foreign exchange savings, employment generation, regional development and population redistribution. Over the longer term, it may have ancillary impacts, such as promoting environmental improvements, infrastructural development, modernization and workforce expansion."

Tourism by its nature brings people together and fosters mutual understanding. It is a venue for cross-cultural communication, as it transcends borders, forming a thread to link peoples of different backgrounds and cultures, including the political ones.

Inherent in tourism development is social and educational exchange. Tourism is political in scope, because it knows no boundaries. It is social in scope because it reflects the customs, the habits, beliefs and speech of various peoples. It is cultural because it reflects the history, the heritage and the arts of the region and it is economic because it brings long-term financial benefits to a tourism region.

For us Palestinians, tourism is not only an economic necessity, but it is also a historical one. It was, is and will be a heritage of the land to welcome religious pilgrims, be they of the Jewish, Christian or Moslem faiths, to serve their needs as they embark on their spiritual homage to the Holy Lands in their act of pilgrimage.

Tourism is the only productive economic sector that will be transferred to us in the transitional peace agreement. The task is upon us to work diligently together to promote the economic as well as the peaceful relationship between the antagonists.

Three years ago I wrote a position paper about the state of tourism in Palestine and its potential contribution to the Palestinian economy. I asserted that tourism will serve as an economic locomotive to the rest of the Palestinian economy. This is not only true in the economic sense, but it is also true in the peace-building process. We believe hat tourism will serve as a unifying and a healing process and will have a central role in the peacemaking efforts in our part of the world.

That said, what are the immediate market growth areas that we Palestinians see under a full, comprehensive, just and durable peace?

1.                  Religious tourism fueled by the Islamic pilgrimages coming back on line.

2.                  Palestinian, Arab and regional tourism, including leisure and vacation tourism.

3.                  Cultural tourism

4.                  Conferences and Conventions.

5.                  Health tourism.

6.                  Agri-tourism.

Those of us in the private sector see three regions for intensive tourism development

1. Gaza and Rafah Region

Some of the cleanest beach areas in the Eastern Mediterranean lie here. There is an enormous potential for the development of a maritime front for leisure and vacation tourism, initially directed towards internal tourism, the Palestinian Diaspora, and Jordanian tourism.

2.  The Dead Sea, Jericho and Jordan Valley Region

This year-round resort could be the future Riviera for the Palestinians, because it is away from population centers, which are conservative in nature. It could be combined effectively with health and wellness tourism. Its proximity to Jerusalem and various outstanding religious, historical, archaeological and scenic attractions of the West Bank makes it one of our prime areas for tourism development. Certainly its importance is enhanced with the recent discovery of a substantial amount of sweet water in the Ein Feshka region. It is also a desirable region for development because traditional industrial and agricultural development is indeed very limited. It is a region of the country where population density is very low. Large-scale development will be required, not only in terms of basic physical infrastructure, but also in new population settlements and the attendant social services needed to house and serve the new population clusters. This would definitely contribute to further development that would be caused by the multiplier effect, because of the development of tourism and support services for tourist activities.

4. Jerusalem and Bethlehem Region

This region is the most important and sensitive one for the development of Palestinian tourism. Putting politics aside for a moment, Jerusalem is without doubt our spiritual and religious capital. Since our mainstay in tourism has been religious tourism, it follows that Jerusalem is also our tourism capital par excellence. Even at the time of Jordan, when the political capital was Amman, Jerusalem remained the touristic capital, where all tourism institutions public and private were headquartered.

Since the 1967 war and occupation by Israel, the extent and quality of Palestinian tourist facilities and services have, with few exceptions, decreased both absolutely and relatively to the development of such facilities and services in the Israeli areas.

Despite the overall expansion of tourism in neighboring areas and the fact that the major attractions exist in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, locals are participating less in, and receiving fewer benefits from, tourism. According to a World Bank report, between 1967 and 1992, the number of travel agents in the Palestinian industry declined from 47 to 36, while the number of Israeli travel agents has grown from 35 to 436. Similarly, the number of Palestinian tour guides has declined from 206 to 70 during the same period, while the number of Israeli guides has grown from virtually zero to 4,300. There are currently around 1,100 Israeli operated tour buses, while Palestinian bus operators run only 108 buses. The hotel industry also exhibits a similar trend. Between 1967 and 1992, the total capacity of Palestinian hotels remained stagnant at about 2,000 rooms, while the total capacity of Israeli hotels increased six fold, from about 5,000 rooms to over 31,000 rooms.

Obviously this trend, certainly in the Jerusalem and Bethlehem areas, cannot continue. Something must be done immediately to remedy this existing situation and create some kind of parity between the Israeli sector and the Palestinian sector. These direct and indirect disincentives to the development of Palestinian tourism in this crucial region should be eliminated immediately and not at the end of any transitional period.

Furthermore, it is imperative for us Palestinians in general and as a tourist sector in particular to have our own international airport. Although the Jerusalem Airport is important to us in a geo-political sense, a large international airport in the Jordan Valley would be better suited for our strategic development. This airport will serve not only the tourism development on the Dead Sea and the Jordan Valley, but it can also serve as an international hub for the region, so that we can reclaim our historical position as the communications center between three continents.

A healthy symbiotic relationship in the field of tourism can serve as model for a bilateral relationship between the Palestinians and the Israelis, conducive to sustaining peace. This model should move in a way that would satisfy the psychological and material needs of both peoples. A more symmetrical approach could be applied, based on the model that Shimon Peres envisaged when he spoke, in his White House address on September 13^th, 1993, of building a new Commonwealth in the Holy Land. Jerusalem and tourism should be the starting point for such a model.

In a Newsweek interview on January 24^th, 1994, Mr. Yasushi Akashi, one of the highest-ranking Japanese diplomats at the United Nations, made the following poignant observation.

"No country can be self-sufficient in this world. You cannot insulate a country; however big it may be, from the outside world. Tremendous progress in science and weaponry has nullified the traditional notions of safe boundaries. More and more countries are shifting their competition to economic areas not military areas. We have to engage in a serious search for new means of ensuring peace and security. That cannot be done by individual means, but through global and regional co-operation."

The level of cooperation that we achieve in the field of tourism will be the litmus test for seriousness in the pursuit of a just, comprehensive and sustainable peace. Cooperation in tourism is not a zero-sum game. It will maximize the returns to all of us, if we plan together in the spirit of sustainable peace. An investment in tourism and tourism cooperation is an investment in peace and vice versa.

I would like to quote, finally, from the message of Pope John Paul II to the Global Conference on Peace through Tourism in Vancouver, Canada on October 1988:

We Palestinians and Israelis have now embarked upon a path that we are hoping will lead us to a genuine peace. Let us use the powerful potential of tourism in general and religious tourism in particular as a natural conduit for regional cooperation and development.

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