Jerusalem, Israel - Jerusalem is reinventing itself by improving tourist services, reaching out to rapidly growing sectors like Christian pilgrims and Russian tourists, attracting more conventions, and recruiting tourists to act as Jerusalem’s ambassadors.
At the forefront of Jerusalem’s marketing campaign, is deputy mayor Hilik Bar, who is in charge of the tourism portfolio. "Jerusalem is actually the anchor of tourism to Israel as a whole,” he explained to a Jerusalem Post reporter. [Read the full story.]
He envisions the Jerusalem of the future with "sleek tourist kiosks spewing personalized maps for an evangelical Korean pilgrim; friendly city representatives who bend over backward to help a German backpacker find a place to live for a month; public toilets scattered throughout the downtown area; well-placed signs so no one gets lost in the narrow alleys of the Old City."
The vision of Mr. Bar, an Ambassador for Peace, is a welcome encouragement for UPF-Israel's offer to host a new series of Middle East Peace Initiative trips. For background about this initiative and proposed dates, click here.