For the fourth month in a row, the tourism sector in Palestine suffers from stagnation due to the persistence of the Corona virus, but official efforts are being made to revitalize the sector, which has accumulated pandemic dust.

There are no signs on the horizon of the return of tourism in Palestine to the way it was, but the Ministry of Tourism seeks to revive the sector with domestic tourism, while the number of HIV infections increases.

The picture of the reality of tourism is evident in the vicinity of the Church of the Nativity in the city of Bethlehem in the southern West Bank, which lacks the minimum number of local visitors, with incoming tourism stopping.

Bethlehem is one of the Palestinian cities most affected by the pandemic, as most of its residents depend on the tourism sector, especially foreign.

In the vicinity of the Church of the Nativity, which is believed to have been built on the cave where Jesus was born, about 70 closed stores since the beginning of last March, when he announced at the time the first cases of Coronavirus in the Palestinian territories.

The markets of Bethlehem - especially its ancient town - were filled with foreign tourists, as the church is the most sacred religious place for Christians, and it is visited by thousands of pilgrims annually.

Return after closure

In an oriental antiques store close to the church, Louis Mikel, 53, is cleaning and inspecting his shop, after a closure that lasted several months.

"Since the beginning of March the store has not opened. There is no tourism, and our total dependence on foreign tourism ... life started to return to the country, except for the tourism sector," Mikel says to Anatolia.

Mikel and his wife have owned the store for 42 years, and they mainly work as a tourist guide, while his wife takes over the store.

He noted that tourist reservations for the next months were canceled due to Corona.

Nearby, Edward Tabbash, who is the owner of an oriental antiques store, is working to rehabilitate his shop, and he tells Anatolia: "There has been no final work since the beginning of March, so we are rehabilitating the store beyond Corona."

Tabash, who also owns a factory for making oriental antiques from olive wood next to his shop, aspires to return to normalcy, explaining: "I have 30 workers in the store and the factory, without work for months, and the losses are very large."

"External tourism is the heart of the tourism sector, without which the tourism sector will disappear."

Except for Tabash and Mikel, no store opens its doors.

For its part, the Palestinian Minister of Tourism, Roula Maayah, says that the tourism sector in Palestine is the most affected by the Corona pandemic.

Affected by Corona

"The tourism sector is the first thing affected by the Corona virus, and the last thing that recovers it," the minister added in her interview with Anatolia.

She pointed out that the ministry's crews are working to revive tourism, noting that this is linked to the health situation and the spread of the virus in the country.

Palestine seeks to revive domestic tourism and then work to attract visitors from "48 Palestinians" (from inside Israel).

And she continues, saying: "The road is long before us until we talk about tourism, and there are fears even for local tourists ... Hotels, tourist restaurants, tourist offices, antiques, and crafts, have suffered great damage."

The Minister expects that the losses of the tourism sector until the end of this year will be about one billion dollars.

A few days ago, the city of Beit Sahour (adjacent to Bethlehem) was registered as a handicraft city by the International Crafts Council, to be the second Palestinian city to obtain the title after the city of Hebron, which was registered in 2016.

Maya`ya expressed the importance of the registration of Beit Sahour, saying, "After Corona, this registration will have a positive impact on the image of Palestine and tourism."

Tourism is a major source of income for the majority of the residents of Bethlehem Governorate, as it contributes 6% of the total Palestinian national income.

In 2019, about 3 million tourists visited Palestine, according to the Palestinian Minister of Tourism.

In recent days, the number of Coronavirus infections has increased in the Palestinian Authority, with a total number of 1028 cases.

"We entered a second wave of the Corona pandemic, and we stress once again the importance and necessity of all citizens adhering to safety and prevention measures," Palestinian Health Minister May Alkila said in a press release, arrived in Anatolia.