Third T4P Conference Summary
Tourism 4 Peace Forum
Egypt - Israel - Jordan - The Palestine Authority
31 October -  2 November 2006

Resolutions of Third T4P Conference  Click HERE

Situation report for each country:

Egypt – There has been some setbacks due to the effects of the caricatures of Mohammed. However, in parallel there has been an increase in British and American tourism, and investments have been made in new hotels. It is estimated that there will be possible increase of 1 million tourists in the next year, reaching a total of nearly 10 million tourists in 2007.

Israel – The Lebanon war had a big impact. Tourism to Israel was on the rise and it was anticipated that in 2006 it would reach 2.4 million tourists, and 2.8 million in 2007. Now the estimates are 1.8 – 1.9. However there is a faster return of FIT's, as opposed to groups.

Jordan – 2005 was a good year, with 2.2 million tourists and 7.5 million bed-nights. They are hoping to reach 8.5 bed-bights in 2006. Trying to increase the number of transit tourists headed for the Gulf. The Amman bombings did cause a decrease, but there are expectations for an increase in the number of tourists in 2007.

Palestinians – There has been no tangible improvements since 2000. There are fluctuations in markets – one market replaces another (Danish, Swedes and Americans ceased to come lately, but the Eastern European market s growing). The rise of the Hamas government affected very much, as well as the building of the wall. Easter is the best period since it coincides with Passover, Jerusalem hotels are full and the Palestinian hotels receive the spillover. Two new projects being built now, in Ramallah and Gaza.

Freedom of movement issues:

•      Clear policies and procedures are needed to enable smooth passage of tourists under the current circumstances of
  checkpoints.

•      There should be equal access for the Palestinian travel agents to receive their groups at border crossings (like Allenby) and at Ben Gurion airport. In addition, tourism professionals should receive permits adequate for their working hours (for instance – permits are until midnight, limiting travel agents from receiving groups arriving past his hour)

•      It should be noted that there have been efforts on behalf of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism in this respect - for instance, representative of the ministry at the Bethlehem checkpoint; the ministry is working to ease visas for South American and Far East tourists, etc.

The Tourism4Peace Forum will work towards facilitating border crossings and obtaining freedom of movement of tourists and tourism professionals in the area, through lobbying and conducting meetings with relevant authorities.

Setting-up an NGO:

         The target à turning the forum from a "friendly group" into an official organization.

         The benefits:

• Without becoming an NGO the forum will remain unknown and will not reach wider
  audiences.

• An NGO will enable cooperating and conducting activities with different organizations.

• Setting up an NGO will assist in raising funding for activities
  (However - continued cooperation with the Peres Center for   Peace is important, mainly in problem resolution, lobbying, etc.).

•      The main question – where to register the NGO? (Maybe in more than one country, for instance - both in Israel and in Jordan).

•      We need to learn from the experience of MEMTTA. This organization was with governmental involvement which eventually became an obstacle. On the other hand, it received governmental recognition and there was seed money given by the US State Department and American Express, which enabled the establishment of the organization.

• Possible support:
  World Bank? Karen Hughes from the US State department?

• It should be decided whether the membership in the NGO should be on a personal or organizational basis.

The Tourism4Peace Forum decided to set up an NGO in order to successfully achieve its objectives. A separate meeting will be held in Taba, Egypt, in December in order to finalize this subject, as well as discussing the details and technicalities of setting up the NGO.

Each side will check the implications of registering the NGO in their country, and Janos will prepare a paper with all the alternatives, to be discussed in the meeting: (including staying under the auspices of the Peres Center, registering in Holland with the support of CHN, or registering the NGOs in one or more of the countries within the region).

Internet site:

-     It is important to set up an internet site, even before setting up an NGO, in order to publicize the forum and make it public.
An initial website will be set up with the generous help of "TravelTalkMedia"

Future Activities:

The present delegation to Holland should be considered as a "Pilot" event and should be used to learn operative lessons and conclusions for other marketing events in the future.

Joint professional workshops for top hotel and travel executives will be held in Eilat, Aqaba or Taba.

Other:

-     CHN University is planning to set-up a Chair in the name of the Tourism4Peace Forum which will also conduct studies and research about peace tourism in the Middle East and related subjects. The Chair will assist the University to maintain communication with the Forum.

List of Participants

Egyptians:

• ElHamy ElZayat, Chairman and CEO Emeco

• Dr. Laila Nabhan, Director, Marketing Development, 5 Continents Travel

• Nahed Samir, Vice President, Business Development – Sonesta International Hotels Corporation

Israelis:

• Rafi Baeri, Vice President, Marketing and Sales, Dan Hotels, Israel

• Janos Damon, Executive Director, Israel Hotel Managers Association

•  Ami Etgar CEO, Israel Incoming Tour Operators Association

• Idit Nirel, Project Manager, the Peres Center for Peace

Jordanians:

• Muhsen A. Makhamreh, PhD, Dean, Jordan Applied University of Hospitality and Tourism

• Michael Nazzal, Chairman of the Board, Jordan Hotel Association

Palestinians

• Richard Elias- Board Member, HLITOA Bethlehem

• Fahmi Nashashibi, former President Arab Hotel Association

• Raed  S. Saadeh, President Arab Hotel Association