If you are traveling to Bethlehem this Advent season expect a lot of company. According to travel experts, the West Bank area has seen (and expects to host) more tourists this year than in any holiday season since Israeli-Palestinian fighting broke out seven years ago.
Bethlehem’s mayor speculates that the relative calm between Israelis and Palestinians has helped persuade Christians that it’s safe to visit. The onslaught of new visitors is a stark contrast to years past when heavy fighting and continued violence frightened many away.
Government officials are expecting around 65,000 tourists to visit the traditional site of Jesus’ birth through the end of the year. They are basing their numbers on the amount of people who came to Bethlehem during the week of Thanksgiving—-about 64,000.
That may not sound like much considering more than double that number flock to New York’s Time Square on New Year’s Eve alone. But, that’s four times the number of visitors who came to Bethlehem during Christmas 2005, when only 16,000 tourists trickled into the town.
Officials attribute the rising numbers to churches in North America and Europe that have been offering travel packages to the area for members of their congregations. If you happen to be traveling to the region in the next couple of weeks don’t expect to see Bethlehem’s plazas decked out in tinsel and neon reindeer. While the government has a $50,000 budget to decorate the town, since Bethlehem’s expansive plaza faces the Church of the Nativity, look for government officials to stick with discreet decorations so as not to distract from the reason for the season.
You should also expect to see what government officials call a “separation barrier,” which encloses Bethlehem on three sides. The barrier is a series of concrete walls, which were erected to prevent Palestinian suicide bombers from reaching popular Israeli tourist spots. Locals consider the walls an eyesore, but officials are hoping tourists look beyond the grim concrete slabs and see all the town has to offer.
Are you traveling to Bethlehem this Christmas?
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