Sustainable Destination Management
Strategies in the OIC Member Countries
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2.2.4. Palestine
Background
Palestine is a sacred land for the three monotheistic religions as well as home to some of the
oldest archeological sites in the world. Is has a unique cultural and historical heritage. It is a land
where many of the prophets walked and has been a pilgrimage center for centuries. Through the
ages, many civilizations have come and gone in the land of Palestine. As a religious center and a
geographically-strategic area, it is a land that has been coveted and whose history is full of wars
and conflicts, conquests and defeats, sieges and surrenders, and the consequent rule of many
different people, including King David, the Neo-Assyrians, the Neo-Babylonians, the Persians,
the Romans, the Byzantines, the Umayyads, the Abbasids, the Fatimids, the Crusaders, and the
Ottomans, among others. It continues to be the case in our present time, since the loss of Al Quds
to the British in 1917 and the eventual creation of the Jewish state of Israel and the partition of
the land between Muslims and Jews. In the 1967 Six Day War, Israel invaded Palestinian
territories, including East Al Quds, and the city has since been under Israeli occupation, currently
surrounded by checkpoints and encircled by the segregation wall.344
It is clear that political and security conditions directly affect the flow of visitors to a destination
and that stability and peace would guarantee a more prosperous tourism industry in
Palestine.345 This is illustrated by the fact that the sector grew significantly after the 1967 war
until 1993 and dropped drastically after the Second Intifada broke out in 2000, and only began
to recover after 2005.346 Despite the turmoil and constant eruption of conflicts, Al Quds
continues to receive large numbers of visitors yearly, both international and from Palestine and
Israel. In 2016, the number of guests in hotels alone was 1,322,700, of whom 60% were
foreign.347 That number rose to 1,653,900 in 2017, the highest the city has ever recorded.348 In
2015, a total of 2,173,200 tourists visited Al Quds.349 The number rose to 2,233,000 foreign
tourists who visited Al Quds, 60%of whomwere Christians, 20% Jewish, and only 3%Muslim.350
Al Quds’ most important touristic resources are its holy sites, such as Al Aqsa Compound in the
Old City with the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Dome of the Rock, and the Western Wall, the Church of
the Holy Sculpture, the Tomb of the Virgin Mary, and many synagogues.
344 Isaac, R.K. (2018). Moving from pilgrimage to dark tourism? A new kind of tourism in Palestine. In Tourists and Tourism.
Waveland.
345 Al-Rimmawi, H., Al-Khateeb , M., & kittaneh, M. (2013). Trends of Palestinian hospitality and tourism: 1995-2008 and a
comparison with Jordan and Israel. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 3(12), 200-208. Retrieved from
346 International Trade Centre. (n.d.). The state of Palestine national export strategy 2014-2018. Retrieved from,
347 The Jerusalem Institute. (n.d.). Tourism - Jerusalem institute for Israel studies, 2016. Retrieved from
348 The Jerusalem Institute. (n.d.). Tourism - Jerusalem institute for Israel studies, 2016. Retrieved from Jerusalem Institute for
Policy Research, Jerusalem Facts and Trends 2018, Tourism, page 104.
349 The Jerusalem Institute. (n.d.). Tourism - Jerusalem institute for Israel studies, 2016. Retrieved
%208.Tourism.pdf.
350 The Jerusalem Institute. (n.d.). Tourism - Jerusalem institute for Israel studies, 2016. Retrieved
%208.Tourism.pdf.