Bethlehem, December 23, 2025 (WAFA) – Anan Shehadeh
Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Hani Al-Hayek said that the investment value in building hotels in Bethlehem Governorate amounted to 78 million US dollars, with the construction of 15 hotels.
In a special interview with Wafa, Minister Al-Hayek explained that despite the halt in tourism, construction work on a number of new tourist hotels, especially in the Bethlehem Governorate, has not stopped, reflecting investors’ confidence in the Palestinian tourism sector and its future prospects.
He added that the hotels were built in the three main cities of Bethlehem, Beit Sahour, and Beit Jala, with a total of 1,632 rooms, noting that despite the reality of the occupation and the restrictions and challenges it imposes, our people have managed to turn tourism into a Palestinian success story par excellence, which has encouraged the private sector to increase its investments, especially in the hotel sector.
Al-Hayek stressed that tourism in Palestine constitutes one of the most important elements of national income, due to the job opportunities it provides, as well as its vital role as a window through which the world looks at Palestine and learns closely about the reality of what our Palestinian people are experiencing as a result of the continued occupation and its military measures.
Al-Hayek pointed out that before the “Corona” pandemic and the aggression, the Palestinian tourism sector was “swimming against the current,” and despite all the obstacles and impediments resulting from the continuation of the Israeli occupation, it was recording unprecedented record numbers in the history of Palestine, whether in terms of the number of visitors or overnight stays in Palestinian hotels.
He explained that in 2019, Palestine received about 3.5 million tourists, an increase of 15% compared to the previous year, while Palestinian hotels recorded about 2.7 million overnight stays. All indicators and hotel bookings confirmed that 2024 would be a busy and special year for the Palestinian tourism sector.
He continued: “Tourism in Palestine is not just an economic activity, but another arena of conflict with the occupation. Through it, we emphasize preserving the Palestinian cultural heritage and material heritage, and we establish Palestine on the world tourism map as an independent tourist destination. We also convey Palestine’s message to the world through tourists and visitors.”
Direct encounters between visitors and local communities also helped to correct the stereotypical image that the occupation seeks to establish, as many visitors returned to their countries as true ambassadors for Palestine, conveying its authentic narrative to their communities.
Al-Hayek emphasized that solidarity tourism programs had a profound impact in giving visitors the opportunity to live with Palestinian families and learn about the details of daily life, which enhanced international understanding of the reality of the occupation and contributed to the production of influential international testimonies and reports .
The reality of tourism
The Minister of Tourism and Antiquities explained that since the outbreak of the aggression on the Gaza Strip, tourism has completely stopped, and all tourist establishments have been closed, as the volume of inbound tourism and hotel stays in 2024 reached less than 2%, compared to 2019 (because tourism activity was at its peak at that time).
He confirmed that this year witnessed an improvement in tourism indicators, represented by a remarkable increase in the number of hotel guests in the West Bank during the first half of 2025, which reached about 103%, compared to the same period of the previous year, while the number of hotel guests in the West Bank reached 121,400 guests, who stayed for about 255,400 overnight nights.
He noted that 53.3% of hotel guests are Palestinian expatriates residing in the 1948 territories, followed by local guests at 24.7% of the total guests, while the rest of the nationalities constituted 22%.
Signs of a partial recovery appeared in the first half of 2025:
Minister Al-Hayek pointed out that based on statistics and based on data from 2019, which witnessed 2.7 million overnight stays, and with tourism halted for two consecutive years, the number of nights lost is 5.4 million overnight stays during two years, and the value of operational losses for the hotel sector in the West Bank, including Jerusalem (overnight stays only), is about 199.2 million US dollars, while the major losses were concentrated in Bethlehem and Jerusalem, at 73% of the total hotel losses, or about 138 million US dollars.
He addressed the total losses in tourism spending according to statistics and figures. Based on tourism spending data (2018–2019) , the monthly inbound tourism spending was $122.8 million, and the monthly domestic tourism spending was $13.39 million, totaling $136.19 million monthly. He pointed out that the total value of losses during two years (24 months) was about $3.27 billion (inbound + domestic), in addition to the lost wages of workers.
The following statistics and figures show the estimated losses to the tourism sector during the aggression (2023–2025):
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A.Sh./S.K.
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