Tourist guides complain of Israeli competition

With 3,800 rooms, Bethlehem accounts for nearly half of the West Bank's hotel capacity. But the occupancy rate (65% to 70%) is unevenly distributed throughout the year."We are booked up in advance for Christian holidays, but there are lots of empty rooms the rest of the year," said the deputy head of the Bethlehem board of commerce, Fairouz Khoury.To redress this imbalance, Vera Baboun, a Palestinian Catholic and Bethlehem's first female mayor since 2012, aims to encourage visitors to stay longer."Our visitors should know that Bethlehem is not just about the nativity," said Baboun.The pilgrims – who mostly come from Russia, the United States and Poland – descend on the town by the coachload, queuing to see the Church of the Nativity, one of Christianity's oldest and holiest, leaving immediately afterwards.Those who linger for more than a few hours are rare."This year our motto is 'Come home for Christmas,' which means: take the time to wander around the alleys of the Old City, talk to the residents, help them to live here," Baboun explained."Bethlehem is not a museum," she said.Palestinian tourist guides have also complained they suffer because of the favorable treatment granted to their Israeli competitors. Some 150 Israelis are authorized to work as guides in Bethlehem, compared with 42 Palestinians permitted to work in Israel and east Jerusalem, the chamber of commerce said."They take more than 80% of the market," complained Mohammed Awadallah, a Palestinian guide.But Israeli authorities, who have long courted the lucrative market in catering to Christian pilgrims in the Holy Land, deny the accusations."We do everything we can so that Christians can visit the holy sites," Israeli Tourism Minister Uzi Landau said