SUMMARY1.      FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT ISSUES

Working permits:
For West Bank workers in Jerusalem are still a major problem for the tourism industry in the city, as they are very limited (age limits; given for 3 months only; subject to closures, etc.)

Bethlehem Checkpoint

• Although there have been significant improvements for tourists crossing the checkpoint, a few days ago they began checking each tourist again (resulting in longer waiting times, bad experience for the tourists, etc.)

• The Ministry of Tourism is trying to improve the appearance of the checkpoint, and was supposed to open an info point at the checkpoint, but this never transpired.

•  Tourist-Only Lane: The creation of a tourist-only lane may be necessary to improve the efficiency of the checkpoint (although it was argued that because of the checkpoint’s narrow design, the only solution is to open another checkpoint just for tourists, not merely a lane).  This issue was raised with the Minister, but there has been no fulfillment of promises.

* Ami Etgar updated that a task force headed by Rafi Ben-Hur, was established by the Ministry of Tourism. They discussed a budget to improve the route between Bethlehem and Jerusalem, extended hours at Allenby, etc. They published a position paper which identified the obstacles to tourism and submitted it to the Ministry of Tourism.

Action:

• It was suggested to meet with Rafi Ben-Hur to ask him about the progress on the issues raised by the task force.

• It was suggested that representatives of the Forum meet with Senior Army officials responsible for the checkpoint, along with Rafi Ben-Hur from the Ministry of Tourism (preferably before Passover).

2.      VISAS

It is getting more and more difficult for Jordanians to get a visa to Israel (the difficult process discourages many people from even trying). It is necessary to ease the process, at least for the business community and tourism professionals.

Action:

• It was suggested to approach the Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Ministry of Defence together with the Hotel Association and the Ministry of Tourism.

• The Peres Center, along with the Israel-Jordan Chamber of Commerce, is constantly working on this issue – it would help to send the Peres Center letters of people’s experiences - concrete examples to strengthen our case.

• The Peres Center will also ask Peres to speak with Tzipi Livni (or whoever is appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs) and with the heads of the security services about this issue.

3.      JOINT MARKETING

a.      Proposed Road Show

• Representatives from all 4 countries will go on a Roadshow and meet with groups of travel agents, church leaders, etc. It was decided that it is imperative that all four sides to be involved in both the marketing and lobbying processes, in an effort to illustrate the cooperation in the region and also to ensure equal opportunities and benefits to parties with more difficult to access destinations.

• Purpose: to educate the clients; to give them the impression that tourists can come to the region safely, present a regional tourism outlook, etc. This will provide a very positive message to potential tourists/agents/etc. and help to assuage fears.

• The Roadshow would be more of an exercise in public relations and promotion, not a sales call (specific packages will not necessarily be presented - the important thing will be presenting the region together). The aim is also to generate PR and publicity through the media. 

• Mainly North American cities will be targeted.

• The representatives: since owners of travel agencies and hotel owners will naturally promote their personal business, representatives of tourist organizations might be better representatives for this promotion Roadshow.

• Another option – joint sales calls of travel agents (this should be done separately and be financed by each representative).

b.      Joint (PowerPoint) Presentation: 

• The presentation should focus on cities and sites - as opposed to countries with borders, and be thematic (religious sites, leisure tourism, etc).

• Each of the organizations could put this presentation on their website.

• Such presentation must be produced professionally; therefore, it requires a budget (estimated cost: $4000-$5000). 

• Representative from each country to be in charge of the presentation - Yusef, Elhamy, Rafi and Hakeem.

• 21^st-26^th May 2006 - ATS (American Tourism Society) Conference in Israel - It was suggested to approach ATS’s president about presenting the joint presentation at the conference à meaning that the presentation must be ready by then!

4.      Conference in Holland

• At the annual meeting of the European Hotel Managers Association a representative of the CHN University in Holland (Christelijke Hogeschool Noord-Nederland) suggested to host a conference on tourism to the Middle East, with representatives of the 4 countries (to take place towards the end of October).
• The target audience, apart from the students of the university – representatives of the churches, of the tourism industry and the press (it would be necessary to get mailing lists of travel agents through the ministries of tourism).
• It was agreed to ‘hitchhike’ on this event and hold also a Roadshow in Amsterdam or Brussels.
• Funding à The European Hotel Association will offer some support. The Peres Center will make an effort to find funding (however, since at the moment resources for this project are limited, some prioritization of needs must be done).

5.      Vocational Training

• In May, a joint Palestinian-Israeli workshop will be held on the topic of IT in hotel marketing, and in June a fam. tour for Palestinian tourism & hospitality students will be held.

• Suggestion to hold similar tour for students of the Jordan Hotel & Tourism Co. à Hakeem Al-Hindi will check if there is an interest.

6.      Infrastructure & Conditions for Tourism:

Jerusalem tourism sites are suffering from neglect, in terms of cleanliness, infrastructure, and safety for tourists (for instance: lack of parking lots near important tourist sites, no tourism police, etc.).

Action:
Write a letter about specific issues (for instance – where is there a lack of parking lots, which sites are dirty, etc.) and Ami Etgar can pass it through his organization to the proper address.