Tourism offers good business for the Holy Land. Yet, where Palestine remains poor, Israel profits.
Palestinian places such as East Jerusalem, the northern shores of the Dead Sea, Qumran, Herodion or Mount Heron in the Syrian Golan are occupied or annexed by Israel. Income and tax collected through these sites benefit the Israeli economy, not the Palestinian or the Syrian.
Travel agencies offer trips to these places without explaining the political context. For example, Booking.com and Tripadvisor advertise for hotels in Israeli settlements. Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. By doing business with Israeli settlements, these organizations contribute to the preservation of war crimes.
Tourism plays a role in the Palestinian struggle for self-determination. Emek Shaveh, the Israeli organisation that analyses archaeology in the shadow of the conflict says: “The struggle over land is a core issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and is the basis for many human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territories.”
