They’ve arranged visits by Chilean miners and “House” stars, and now the busy bees at Israel’s tourism ministry have their eyes on Martha Stewart and Oprah. As part of a new push to bring celebrity visitors to Israel, the ministry has created a special “hospitality unit” to woo famous foreigners, Yediot Aharonot reported recently. The…
The summer vacation has started in Israel and people are flocking to attractions — theme parks, hotels, shows and festivals. But like most things here, tourism can be politically-loaded. Increasingly frustrated that they are having little luck expanding settlements, settlers and settler sympathizers are increasingly trying to make their mark on the parts of the…
It’s hardly as bad as a proposed mall across the street from Auschwitz, but some are still upset about the new fee being charged at Sachsenhausen, the former concentration camp near Berlin. Earlier this month, officials at the camp began charging one euro for each member of organized tours of the site, where more than…
“Tel Aviv is the total flipside of Jerusalem, a modern Sin City on the sea rather than an ancient Holy City on a hill.” In its 2011 list of the world’s top 10 cities, Lonely Planet, the world’s largest travel guidebook series, has pinpointed what many tourists to Israel knew already. Israel has a dichotomous…
Post-flotilla, Turkey is seething at Israel and Israel is furious with Turkey. Friction between the two nation’s politicians is higher than ever, and in both countries shoppers are boycotting goods from the other (Turkish coffee is currently having a Freedom Fries moment in Israel). But there seems to be one winner in all the tension…
Is a tourism boon taking hold in Palestinian hotels? According to new numbers from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, it would seem so. More people are booking, and when they do, they are staying for longer, the figures show. Some 135,939 guests stayed in Palestinian hotels during the third quarter of 2009. This figure…
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