From the Jerusalem Post:

Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov presented his ministry’s three-year plan to boost tourism at a press conference in Tel Aviv on Wednesday. The plan, which aims to bring in an additional one million foreign tourists by 2012, focuses mostly on attracting tourists who come to Israel for religious, historical and cultural purposes. According to Misezhnikov, the boost in numbers will garner NIS 4.5 billion in income and create 40,000 new jobs, especially in Jerusalem and the periphery. "The Tourism Ministry is an economic portfolio," he said. "As such, it is measured according to two main parameters: creating jobs and balancing income with expenses. For every 100,000 tourists, 4,000 jobs are created and NIS 450 million are invested in the Israeli economy." The plan calls for the branding of Israel as a destination for dahat tourism, a Hebrew acronym for religion, history and culture. Misezhnikov said his office had identified Israel’s central role in Judaism and Christianity and its rich historic and cultural legacy as the main attraction for tourists. "We have no relative advantage over other countries in terms of vistas, beaches or leisure," he said. "On the contrary, we are at a disadvantage compared to some of our neighbors because of our troublesome security situation, our relatively high prices and our image of being inhospitable to tourists." [. . .] The US was the largest country of origin for incoming tourism, with 550,000 visitors, or 21% of all incoming tourism. Russia was second, with 400,000 visitors; France was third, with 260,000; followed by the UK, with 170,000; and Germany, with Thirty-nine percent of incoming tourists were Jewish, 54% Christian and the remainder either from other religions or with no religious affiliation. Nearly half of the tourists were visiting Israel for the first time. Nearly a quarter of the tourists said the purpose of their visit was for holiday and leisure, 31% for pilgrimage and 6% for touring and sightseeing. The average foreign tourist expenditure in Israel in 2009 was $1,083, including overseas expenses. The average daily expenditure was about $100.

The full story is here.

The Jaffa Gate area is set to be the focus of extensive renovations over the next year and a half.  This may be of particular interest to those who are planning to visit Jerusalem in 2010 or 2011.  According to a flyer distributed by the municipality, the project includes:

• Restoring infrastructure
• Improving pedestrian access
• Installing “street furniture”
• Restoring facades of buildings in the square inside Jaffa Gate

They predict that visitors will be inconvenienced for 18 months, with work proceeding “24 hours a day.”  In particular, the following changes will be made:

• Vehicular traffic will be one-way from Jaffa Gate to Zion Gate
• Loading and unloading access will be restricted
• Pedestrian traffic and “access to shops will not be impeded in any way”

Work has already begun and Jerusalem resident Craig Dunning has visited the area and sends some photographs with permission to post them here.  He notes that until today work has primarily consisted of the removal of paving stones, and traffic continues to move in both directions.

 Work begins in front of Tourist Information Office

 Enclosed area next to covered suq

From the Jerusalem Post (see also Bridges for Peace):

The Tourism Ministry announced new plans last week to invest NIS 15 million in the development of tourism infrastructure and events in Jerusalem throughout 2010, as part of a new program to establish Israel as "the Holy Land, with Jerusalem at its center." In recent years, the ministry has invested tens of millions of shekels in the development and repair of a number of tourist sites in the capital, among them the city center, the historic Ein Kerem neighborhood and the Old City. However, the new program – and the NIS 15m. accompanying it – will go toward increasing the size and scope of similar tourism initiatives, along with infrastructure work that will allow for longer operating hours and larger crowd capacity at a number of sites in the capital, in an effort to maximize the number of tourists at each site. Additionally, the ministry plans to encourage both domestic and local tourism to Jerusalem by raising awareness of events taking place in the city. […] Additional events that have been planned to cater to a wider audience include special tours throughout the city, theater, music and art festivals, and a culinary festival that will include discounts at some of the city’s best restaurants. Activities for children are also planned, as are nighttime activities for college students. According to numbers released by the ministry, Jerusalem is the most commonly visited location for tourists coming to Israel. In 2008, 74 percent of all tourists who came to Israel visited Jerusalem, and 54% of them stayed in the capital at least one night. The average tourist’s stay in Jerusalem during 2008 was six nights, and the most-visited sites within the city were the Western Wall, the Old City’s Jewish Quarter, the Mount of Olives, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Via Dolorosa, the Tower of David and the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial.

I’m curious about the statement that the “average tourist’s stay in Jerusalem during 2008 was six nights.”  I think you’d be hard pressed to find a Christian tour group that stays more than three nights.  There are student groups that stay longer, and probably some Jewish groups, but I tend to doubt that six is the average.  It’s also interesting that 46% of tourists apparently didn’t even spend one night in Jerusalem.  I suppose that includes some European snowbirds who never leave Eilat.

I’ve recently learned about a new website devoted solely to the city of Jerusalem.  If you are planning a trip to the city, this site has a number of pages that may help you to get the most of your time.  For instance:

Best Jerusalem Old City sites – this “top 10” list has 12 recommendations and I would basically agree with the selections.  The hours and prices are helpful as well, as long as they remain up to date. 

Some extra links reflect the extra time spent developing the website, such as the tips about appropriate attire for Hezekiah’s Tunnel and information about the Jerusalem mp3 tour.

The Museum Guide gives eight recommendations, including full pages about three of them.  The Israel Museum page gives a good summary of the major highlights, though it will be worth mentioning here that the Archaeology Wing is closed until 2010 (Middle East Time).

I’m not sure how many times I’ve had to explain how to get from Ben Gurion airport to Jerusalem, but this page gives all the details you need to know except the price for a shared taxi (about $11 or NIS equivalent).

There are some points I would disagree with – such as women in pants being required to wear skirts at the Western Wall prayer area (I’ve never seen that) – but overall the advice seems sensible and accurate.

Some sections are still under development, such as “Where to Eat,” but overall visitors will find much to help them plan their trip in the city.