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Traveling to Bethlehem for Christmas

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?

Related Articles:

“Spiritual” Destinations–A Growing Trend In Travel

Flying the Holy Skies

How the Hibernators Came to Bethlehem – Norma Farber

This entry was posted in Seasonal Travel and tagged , , , by Michele Cheplic. Bookmark the permalink.

About Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism. She spent the next ten years as a television anchor and reporter at various stations throughout the country (from the CBS affiliate in Honolulu to the NBC affiliate in Green Bay). She has won numerous honors including an Emmy Award and multiple Edward R. Murrow awards honoring outstanding achievements in broadcast journalism. In addition, she has received awards from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association for her reports on air travel and the Wisconsin Education Association Council for her stories on education. Michele has since left television to concentrate on being a mom and freelance writer.