Tourism in Palestine has been receiving an increasingly important profile given its economic and religious importance and the significant role it plays in Israeli-Palestinian relations, representation of Palestinian statehood and identity, and wider Middle Eastern politics. Nevertheless, Palestine, like much of the Middle East as a whole, remains extremely underrepresented in tourism literature. This title aims to fill this void by being the first book dedicated to exploring the significance of tourism in relationship to Palestine.
The book examines the role of tourism in Palestine at three main levels. First, it provides an overview of destination management and marketing issues for the tourism industry in Palestine and addresses not only the visitor markets and the economic significance of tourism but also the realities of the difficulties of destination management, marketing and promotion of the Palestinian state. Second, it provides a series chapters and case studies that interrogate not only the various forms of tourism in Palestine but also its economic, social, environmental and spiritual importance. This section also conveys a dimension to tourism in Palestine that is not usually appreciated in the Western mainstream media. The third section indicates the way in which tourism in Palestine highlights broader questions and debates in tourism studies and the way in which travel in the region is framed in wider discourses. A significant dimension of the book is the attention it gives to the different voices of stakeholders in Palestinian tourism at varying levels of scale.
This timely volume will offer the reader significant insight into the challenges and issues of tourism in this area now and in the future. It will benefit those interested in tourism, Middle East studies, politics, economics, development studies and geography.
1. Introduction Rami Isaac, C. Michael Hall And Freya Higgins-Desbiolles Section I: An Overview of Tourism in Palestine 2. Palestine as a Tourism Destination Rami Isaac, C. Michael Hall and Freya Higgins-Desbiolles Section II: The Ways in which Tourism Matters to Palestine 3. Solidarity Tourism in Palestine: The Alternative Tourism Group of Palestine as a Catalyzing Instrument of Resistance Rami Kassis, Ranjan Solomon, and Freya Higgins-Desbiolles 4. Bike and Hike in Palestine Yiota Kutulas and Micahel Awad 5. Hiking and Eco-Tourism: The Case of Battir Ryvka Barnard and Hassan Muamer 6. World Heritage Site in Bethlehem and its Potential Reflections on Tourism Nada Atrash 7. Experiential Community-Based Rural Tourism Potential in Palestine: Challenges and Potentials Raed Saadeh 8. Diaspora and Vfr Suhail Khalilieh 9. Pilgrimage Tourism to Palestine Rami Isaac 10. Gaza: The Missing Tourism Asset Rania Filfil Almbaid Section III: The Ways in which Palestine Matters to Tourism 11. Tourism, Travel and Academic (And Cultural) Boycotting Bisan Mitri 12. The Folds of Place: Re-Visiting Questions of Travel in Israel/Palestine Waleed Hazboun 13. Human Rights and the Right to Travel: The Case of Palestine Freya Higgins-Desbiolles Conclusion: Future Visioning 14. The Future of Tourism and Pilgrimage in Palestine Tom Selwyn and Rami Isaac15. The Gaza Virtual Museum Project Ian S. Mcintosh and Jamil Alfaleet 16. Palestine: The Newest Country with the Oldest Nation Brand in the World Erdinc Cakmak and Rami Isaac 17. Giving Palestinian Tourism(S) A Voice Rami Isaac, Vincent Platenkamp, Freya-Higgins-Desbiolles and C. Michael Hall
Isaac, Rami K.; Hall, C. Michael; Higgins-Desbiolles, Freya
