As a destination, the State of Palestine (SP) has much to offer in addition to religious and historical sites. Local interest in promoting alternative tourism has increased, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic (Isaac, 2010b, PCBS 2020b). SP generally has unique and promising rich landscapes and wildlife habitats and ecosystems which are very important for developing ecotourism. A conference on development of eco-tourism in SP was held on 8 November 2007 by the Centre for Cultural Heritage Preservation (CCHP) in partnership with Bethlehem University. Sustainable tourism includes ecotourism which, if structured properly (Lee and Jan 2015), can help economically (Isaac, 2010a, b, c; Quttaineh, 2015 ; Tabash, 2017), help conserve biodiversity (Qumsiyeh and Handal, 2018), and, help reverse negative trends in world development and contribute significantly to the global Millennium Development Goals (Bricker et al., 2013). In SP several existing initiatives try to do that (e.g. http://phtrail.ps; http://atg.ps/ https://bit.ly/2Zsj2b2; Szepesi 2012; Hanns Seidel Foundation, 2021).
According to Environmental Quality Authority (2021), popular destinations for ecotourism are the Southern Jordan Valley, the Dead Sea and Ain Fashkha. However, lack of tourism investment, poor publicity, and lack of sovereignty over these areas inhibit the continued development of eco-tourism in the State of Palestine. A Master thesis from Al-Quds University suggested the need for evaluating destinations of ecotourism in terms of certain indicators (gleaned from talking to presumed local experts). Yet, in SP not one person is yet qualified or trained professionally in ecotourism as a field. Much can be done to develop the tourism sector in SP in general but most of it is dependent on having sovereignty and political stability which is not forthcoming as long as the conflict and occupation continues. Most natural sites are under Israeli control in historic Palestine and in most of the occupied territories. Thus, it is not surprising that, like religious tourism, the nascent sector of ecotourism is also mostly dominated by Israel (Ministry of National Economy 2013; see also http://www.ecotourism.org.il/).
However, even under occupation, development is possible, for example, having qualified human resources and structured programs that cater to different forms of tourism including ecotourism. The largest alternative tourism in SP today is not ecotourism but political tourism, including ‘dark tourism’ which is tourism of troubled spots and areas where dark human history happened, like in Deir Yassin and visits to refugee camps (see Isaac, 2010a). However, some very hopeful signs that some things can be done even under occupation and not just in areas of dark tourism and recruitment of international solidarity activists can be seen. For example, interest in walking and hiking through nature has increased in the past two years. Some books published regarding these such as (Szepesi, 2012) with attendant website. Additionally, the Palestinian Heritage Trail offers a model of community-based tourism that could be expanded and adopted elsewhere through the country.
Agricultural tourism can also be promoted because SP is rich in agricultural traditions and history being part of the Fertile Crescent where humans first developed domestication of plants and animals. Yet, continued Israeli occupation has had and could have more negative ramifications as many agricultural lands in SP are being developed by Israeli agriculture that is industrialized, and sustainable management of these lands become difficult without sovereignty.
The possibilities and opportunities for ecotourism in Palestine are many and can be developed, especially in light of the existence of a new network of protected areas, but this sector still needs to develop the laws and strategies regulating this sector in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and local authorities in order to sustain the protection of nature and its biodiversity and provide job opportunities for local people through benefits from ecosystem services.
See References in the Publications
