Sustainable Destination Management
Strategies in the OIC Member Countries
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regulation fosters purely capitalistic unsustainable mass tourism from which the community
does not benefit, and the cultural and historical identity and heritage of the destination can be
jeopardized.358
The city of Al Quds has been under Israeli administration since the 1967 War, which restricted
the presence of any official Palestinian body in the city. This presents an obvious obstacle for
Palestinian destination management and promotion as well as the development of strategies
and projects with private stakeholders.359 The Israeli authorities control the flow of
international tourists, from visa issuing to entering the country and accessing the city,360
significantly limiting the implementation of any coordinated action by the Palestinian
stakeholders.361 There are restrictions on movement and access, which impede or make it
difficult to manage tourism flow and develop themed routes.362 The continuous illegal
settlements and destruction of Palestinian historical and religious sites, and the displacement
and separation of Palestinian people, contribute to a move towards eradicating Palestinian
identity and social cohesion. Another important factor considered in many studies and used by
Israeli government as a tool to undermine a strong Palestinian society is the fact that the
majority of guides in Al Quds are Israeli, who relay historical information clearly tainted with a
Zionist narrative.363
The fragmented situation of the tourism sector is a challenge for sustainable tourism. Dr. Rami
Isaac identified the key players in sustainable tourism planning and management in Al-Quds as
the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Palestine (MoTA), the Arab Hotel Association (AHA),
the Holy Land Incoming Tour Operators Association (HLITOA), the Arab Restaurant Association,
Arab Tourist Guides Union (ATGU), the Jerusalem Tourism Cluster, souvenir shop owners,
artisans, artists, craftspeople, and residents. He considers that these stakeholders should
collaborate to develop an integrative plan towards sustainable tourism, part of which should be
expanding tourism beyond pilgrimage and visiting the Old City.364
Palestine’s tourism laws fail to efficiently regulate the sector since basic elements such as the
relationship between private-public players, the protection of sites, and the responsibilities of
stakeholders, are unregulated.
358 Kassis, R. (2006). The Palestinians & justice tourism – another tourism is possible. Retrieved from
359 PALTRADE. (2014). The state of Palestine national export strategy 2014-2018. Retrieved from
360 Isaac, R. K. (2010). Moving from pilgrimage to responsible tourism: The case of Palestine. Current Issues in Tourism, 13(6),
579-590.
361 ICC Palestine. (2013 ). Palestine Tourism Sector (2013) . Retrieved from
362 This week in Palestine. (2014). Palestine: A challenging tourism destination endeavors and challenges of promoting
sustainable tourism in Palestine. Retrieved from
363 Brin, E., & Noy, C. (2010). The said and the unsaid: Performative guiding in a Jerusalem neighbourhood. Tourist Studies,
10(1), 19-33.
364 SESRIC Report (n.d.). Report of the workshop on “exploring tourism potential of al quds al sherif city”.