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The Metropolitan Jerusalem Master Plan
The Metropolitan Jerusalem Master Plan
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In order to realize the huge potential of
the Asian tourism market, hotels and
entertainments centers in Jerusalem must
be suited to the habits of the Asian tourist
shekels a year.
Growth estimations for the global tourism
industry predict that the majority of this growth
is expected to come in the form of tourism from
the Far East, specifically, China. The demands
and needs of the Chinese tourist are different
than those of the Western tourist. In addition to
improving transportation fromChina to Israel,
hotels and entertainment centers need to be
suited to the habits of the Chinese tourist. Even
today Israel is investing more in tourism from the
Far East.
In 2016, a Chinese airline began direct
flights to Israel for the first time. This
trend must be strengthened, out of the
understanding that realizing the tourism
potential Jerusalem is dependent on winning
the battle for the heart of the Chinese tourist.
The economic turnout from tourism for
the Israeli economy was estimated in 2013 at
40 billion shekels, according to the following
breakdown:
Inbound tourism (including income for
Israeli airlines) – approx. 18.2 billion shekels
Internal tourism – approx. 12 billion
shekels
Outbound tourism – approx. 9 billion
shekels.
A survey of inbound tourism for 2011
showed the character of tourists visiting Israel:
they are largely Christians aged 25-44, of average
income, who spend about $1,500 while here. The
most visited city in Israel, by tourists from abroad,
is Jerusalem; 75% of those asked said they had
visited the city. Coming in second is Tel Aviv
(64%), and third (51%) – the Dead Sea – which
is in the metropolitan Jerusalem region. In fourth
place – Tiberius and the Sea of Galilee, and fifth
– Nazareth.
The majority of the most-visited sites in
Israel are in Jerusalem. 68% of tourists visited
the Western Wall, 64% visited the Jewish
Quarter, 57% visited the Church of the Holy
Sepulture, 55% visited Via Dolorosa, and
53% visited the Mount of Olives.
A look into the reasons why tourists
visit Israel shows that most of them are
Christians or Jews who come here for
purposes of tourism, including religious
tourism (pilgrimage).
53% of tourists from overseas are
Christians, half of which are Catholic. 28%
are Jews, and 19% are of other religions or
have no religious affiliation.
54% of tourists coming to Israel in 2013
were coming here for the first time.
22% were visiting Israel for the purpose
of pilgrimage, 27% to tour and sightsee, 9%
for recreation and vacation. 26% came to
visit friends and relatives, and 8% were here
on business or for conferences.
64% of tourists stayed in hotels, 25%
with friends and relatives, 4% at youth
hostels and Christian hostels, and 3% stayed
in homes they own or rented.
Strengthening the growth trend in Chinese tourism
to Israel. Chinese tourists taking in the Temple Mount
view from Mount of Olives. April 2015
Photography:
Kyrylo Glivin, Shutterstock
Hotels and Tourism
Over the past half-century, tourism has
become one of the most important
industries in the global economy. In order to
meet the demands of hundreds of millions
of tourists expected to visit Jerusalem over
the coming decades, tens of thousands
of hotels rooms must be built, and the
infrastructure appropriate for them must
be created. The realization of this plan will
help Jerusalem become a global tourism
superpower.
In 2013, the World Tourism Organization
(WTO), announced there was a “Tourism
Billion,” meaning, in that year, for the first
time, a record one billion tourists traveled
worldwide. This incredible number points
towards an ongoing trend of growth in
world tourism. In 1950 there was a total
of 25 million tourists worldwide – one for
every 1,000 people – but the reality in the
years since has changed remarkably. People
from all over the world are traveling abroad
in droves. The organization forecasts that
100 years from 1950 – in 2050 – 4.7 billion
tourists, one out of every two people,
will travel to some tourism destination or
another on earth. This growth trend in
global tourism has been going on constantly
for over half a century, despite all economic,
social, and political crises in the world.
Thus, the global tourism boom is one of
the most outstanding economic and social
phenomena of the past century. In order to
meet the demands of the tourism industry,
the segment of the world’s population
working with the tourism industry has
been growing annually for the past thirty
years. Tourism has become one of the most
dynamic industries in local economies.
Presuming that the forecast for continued
growth of the industry remains stable, ways
to integrate metropolitan Jerusalem into the
global growth in tourism should be examined.
Jerusalem can provide unique tourism sites that
cannot be found elsewhere in the world. First and
foremost, Jerusalem and its surrounding areas
include religious sites holy to Jews, Christians,
and Muslims. Even today, pilgrims of all three
religions represent a significant percentage
of Jerusalem’s visitors and proper efforts can
strengthen this trend. Further, Jerusalem has a
long, continuous history, and archeological digs
have exposed the city’s chronicles in its various
historical layers.
Many other tourism sites in the metropolitan
region may be added to these, including the Dead
Sea, Herodian, Bethlehem, Jericho, the Judean
Desert, and much more. If properly developed,
these historical and archeological sites could turn
metropolitan Jerusalem into one of the greatest
focal points for tourists who are interested in
global historical heritage.
The average growth in global tourism is some
4.5% annually. If this trend is to continue, in
2030, some 1.8 billion tourists will tour globally.
As noted, the World TourismOrganization is
estimating an even more significant increase over
the subsequent 20 years. If we take this data as
our baseline assumption, we can calculate the
number of guests who will be visiting Jerusalem’s
hotels over the coming decades. Today there are
some 1.5 million tourists annually to Jerusalem’s
10,000 existing hotel rooms. The most reasonable
increase in the city’s tourism numbers would
be 5%-6% annually. Taking these numbers into
consideration, in 2050, there will be 10 million
tourists from abroad and another 2 million Israeli
domestic tourists in Jerusalem.
The realization of this tourism vision
will have huge social and economic
repercussions on metropolitan Jerusalem.
The comprehensive scope of economic
activity inherent in such tourism
development is estimated at over 7 billion
//
Where will the billionth tourist stay?
With growth in the hundreds of percentages over fifty years, tourism has
become a huge stimulus of economic growth. How can and will Jerusalem
become part of this amazing historical process?
Hotels and Tourism