Tourism Minister Yariv Levin: "I welcome
the thousands of visitors who are expected to arrive in Israel for the
Christmas holiday. We are doing our utmost to offer assistance to each and
every one and welcome them. The ministry invests significantly throughout the
year in the conservation and upgrading of Christian sites in order to ensure
that every Christian can visit the sites that are sacred for him. We invite you
to visit these sites and enjoy a powerful religious and spiritual
experience."
From 15:00 on Christmas Eve through to 03:00 on Christmas Day,
the Ministry of Tourism will offer free shuttle transportation,
helping pilgrims travelling between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Buses will leave
every 30 minutes on the hour and half hour from the bus stop near the Carta
Parking lot (opposite Jaffa Gate and near to the Mamilla Boulevard). The bus
will also stop near the entrance to the Mar Elias Monastery, and at the
Rosmarin junction, before continuing via Rachel's Crossing to Bethlehem - and
then back again. Representatives from the Ministry of Tourism will
welcome tourists and pilgrims at Rachel’s Crossing with sweets in the spirit of
the holiday. The ministry will also provide a firework display during the
Christmas parade in Nazareth.
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| Jerusalem: sunset view from the Mount of Olives, with Church of Mary Magdalene (Russian) and Dome of the Rock (Ministry of Tourism) |
On Christmas Eve,
24.12.15, the traditional parade of thousands of local youth, together with the
leaders of the Christian communities, will pass through Nazareth from
15:00. The parade ends at the plaza in front of the Basilica with a firework
display to announce the opening of the festive Christmas celebrations (17:30).
Christmas Mass will be celebrated in the Basilica of the Annunciation at 19:00.
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| The city of Nazareth, the Basilica of Annunciation, accessible via Gospel Trail (Ministry of Tourism) |
The Christian sites
include, among others, the baptism site at Qasr el Yahud near the Dead Sea,
Mount Zion and Ein Karem in Jerusalem and the Gospel Trail in the Galilee.
Other projects include, among others, the boardwalk from Tiberias to Capernaum,
Korazim and Mount Precipice.
The Papal visit to
Israel in May 2014 brought thousands of tourists and pilgrims to Israel and,
following the visit, hundreds of thousands more tourists who traveled to the
Holy Land as a result.
Websites and Facebook
pages for the Catholic and Evangelical communities
www.holyland-pilgrimage.org (the Tourism
Ministry’s dedicated site for Catholic pilgrims, available in English, Spanish,
French, Italian, German, Polish and Portuguese).
http://www.goisrael.com/Evng (the Tourism Ministry’s dedicated site for Evangelical Christians)
http://www.goisrael.com/Evng (the Tourism Ministry’s dedicated site for Evangelical Christians)
Christian tourism –
facts & figures:
54% of the 2.9
million tourist entries (those staying at least one night) in 2014 were
Christians. Of these, 39% were Catholic, 27% Protestants, 27% Orthodox. Among
the Protestants, 74% were Evangelicals (who comprise 20% of all Christian
tourists and 8% of all tourists), while 26% were from the mainstream and the
Afro-American church. Among the Orthodox, 85% belong to the Russian Orthodox
Church, and 15% to the Greek Orthodox and others.
21% of all visitors
to Israel defined the purpose of their visit as pilgrimage. The vast majority
of all Christian visitors visit Jerusalem, with about a third visiting Tel
Aviv-Jaffa. The most visited sites by Christians (by descending order) were Church
of the Holy Sepulcher, the Jewish Quarter, Capernaum, Old Jaffa, Tower of
David, Qumran, Yad Vashem, Beit Shean and Qasr el Yahud.
