Jerusalem 5800 English

The Metropolitan Jerusalem Master Plan

Management of Tourism in the Metropolis

Managing 12 million tourists a year in the

metropolitan Jerusalem region will require an

organizational layout that is very different from

the one existing today. The purpose of this

organizational layout would be to enable the

intake of the largest number of tourists with

the fewest amount of disruptions across the

metropolis. This is understandably a deeply

complex system and we cannot go into all the

minor details. Instead, we will focus on the

major concerns.

Recent experience has taught us that there

is a risk of bottlenecking at each of the points

through which the tourists visit, including the

airport, major traffic arteries, tourist sites and

hotels.

In order to minimize this phenomenon, an

administration must be established, exclusively

for the metropolitan region of Jerusalem.

This administration would bring together

representatives of the Ministry of Tourism, the

JerusalemMunicipality, and neighboring city

authorities from throughout the metropolitan

region. The role of this administration will

be to realize importance tourism agenda and

coordinate with all the relevant authorities

in order to locate points of congestion and

their causes, and to offer solutions. The

administration would be an independent

professional organization with the authority

to supervise those involved in tourism in the

metropolitan Jerusalem region and to coordinate

between them on a daily basis. Further, the role

of this administration would be planning for the

future by putting together a long-term strategy.

Another role of the administration would be

marketing and public relations for the city’s

tourist industry with a deep understanding of

the larger context of tourism in the metropolis.

The administration will work towards

strengthening the image of metropolitan

Jerusalem as a tourist destination and raising its

international profile. At the same time, efforts

will be made to emphasize its uniqueness

as a city and tourist destination. In order to

increase high-quality tourism to Jerusalem,

tourism management procedures, among

others, must be improved, through long-term

strategic planning that incorporates the local

community. The tourism model must be

developed while balancing between the needs

of local residents and tourists. A strategic plan

must be set out, involving cooperation with

residents, and emphasizing the incorporation

of the Jerusalem business sector in discussions

regarding tourism development, out of a belief

that the tourism industry is a part of the urban

reality – economically, socially, and culturally,

and in terms of spatial distribution. The city’s

ability to contain the expected numbers of

tourists depends on the tourists not disrupting

the residents’ physical, economic, social,

cultural, and ecological conditions. Any harm

done to the quality of life for the residents

of Jerusalem is not an option, and will harm

tourism in the long run.

In summary, the tourism potential of

metropolitan Jerusalem is huge, but as of

now, it remains just that – potential – and

its realization depends on determination,

creativity, earnestness, and thoroughness.

Turning Jerusalem into an international tourism

super-city is a strategic goal for Israel, although

managing processes that will allow Jerusalem to

make this aspiration a reality will be complicated

and long-term, as we have explained. Despite

these difficulties, harnessing the entirety

of relevant players, and comprehensive

management of the process, will undoubtedly

bear the desired fruit.

Transforming

Jerusalem

into an

international

tourism

super-city is

a strategic

goal for

Israel

Hotels and Tourism

How can we avoid the bottlenecks caused by the expected 12 million annual

tourists? Managing large-scale tourism in a major metropolis requires a

fundamental change in approach.

20th century, which strove to separate

residential, commercial, and hospitality

areas from each other. Research from

recent decades has taught us that mixed

urban use has very positive economic,

social, and transportation significance. In

light of this, new hotels will be planned,

as much as possible, in integrated groups

– meaning, hotels, entertainment centers,

restaurants, commerce centers, and

residential areas in the same place.

These compounds are called, in the

professional lingo, Integrated Tourism

Resorts.

According to the calculations of the

Jerusalem 5800 Planning Committee, it

is proposed that a total of 63,000 rooms

be prepared, to be divided between the

regions of metropolitan Jerusalem as

follows: the holy basin and the city center

– 22,000 rooms; the city of Jerusalem and

the inner circle – 22,000 rooms; the outer

circle – 19,000 rooms.

The general approach to planning taken by

the Jerusalem 5800 plan, which emphasizes

the need to plan the city of Jerusalemwhile

keeping in mind the long-term and the

geographic region of greater metropolitan

Jerusalem (and not only the city of Jerusalem),

is expressed in the proposal to establish

significant tourism compounds on the outskirts

or outside of the current municipal region. This

choice has important implications in terms of

cooperation between the Jerusalemmunicipality

and its satellite cities, as well as in terms of

transportation and infrastructure.

Though the plan deals with tourism

and economy as the leading factors in the

realizing the potential economic revolution

in Jerusalem for the good of all its residents,

it is clear that this is only one of many

aspects that make up the greater fabric

of urban-metropolis. Therefore, from the

fourteen compounds for development,

there are four proposed compounds which

are to be centers of employment, residence,

transportation, and academia.

The Jerusalem 5800 Plan seeks to set

out the general outline for the development

of Jerusalem, but the development itself

will be carried out by private hands.

Each project has the potential to succeed

economically, and thus, will attract private

entrepreneurs as investors. Cooperation

between private entrepreneurs and public

authorities or their subsidiaries may also

be an option. Government and municipal

parties must outline the general plan,

create the appropriate conditions for

entrepreneurs and investors (including

removal of bureaucratic barriers), and even

attract them using marketing, advertising,

and educational strategies in Israel and

around the world.

Modern tourism in an

ancient region. The

Mamilla pedestrian mall

in all its glory.

Hotels and Tourism