Israel and the Palestinian Authority will hold a joint seminar on tourism, sponsored by the Franciscan Order of the Catholic Church at the Fitour 2005 tourism exhibition in Spain on Thursday. Ministry of Tourism director general Eli Cohen, Palestinian Authority Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Mitri Abu-Eitta and Deputy Custos of the Holy Land Father Artemio Vitores also plan to hold a joint press conference on Thursday. The Franciscan Order is responsible for Catholic sites in Israel and the Palestinian Authority on behalf of the Vatican.
The meeting aims at encouraging Catholic tourism to the Holy Land. Ministry of Tourism figures indicate that Catholic tourism doubled from 2003 to 2004.
Last month, the Israeli and Palestinian ministers of tourism and the ministries' director generals agreed to cooperate on tourism. This cooperation found expression during Christmas. The Ministry of Tourism provided special buses, 24 hours a day, to carry thousands of pilgrims and tourists from the Mar Elias Monastery in the Gilo neighborhood of Jerusalem and 300 meters from the checkpoint on the Bethlehem road, to the Church of the Nativity in Manger Square, Bethlehem.
Several months ago, Pope John Paul II called for the resumption of Catholic pilgrimages to the Holy Land.
17 Israeli companies will participate in the Israeli pavilion at Fitour 2005. Ministry of Tourism officials will meet Brazilian tourism agents and wholesalers who are planning charter flights to Israel, and with Spanish tourism agents and wholesalers.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on January 26, 2005