Is the Jubilee—the Holy Year for Christians, beginning December 24 and promising forgiveness for Catholic believers—the salvation of Israel’s tourism industry? The Tourism Ministry hopes that this religious celebration could be Israel's opportunity to recover from the tourism collapse of the past year.
This opportunity arises from the Christian world. Pope Francis declared 2025 a Jubilee Year, celebrated every 25 years, where he announced that forgiveness of sins can be obtained through pilgrimages to holy sites, including churches in Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Bethlehem.
Tourism Ministry Director General Dani Shahar met with Vatican officials in Rome to promote the idea of obtaining forgiveness in the Holy Land. Traditionally, 50% of tourists to Israel are Christian, with 43% identifying as Catholic.
As part of preparations for the influx of Christian pilgrims, and assuming the current war ends and flights to Israel resume fully, the ministry has started improving infrastructure at key holy sites, such as Yardenit (the Jordan River baptismal site), Capernaum, and the Old City of Nazareth.
An international campaign was also planned, including creating specialized marketing materials for Catholic audiences, signing marketing agreements with major wholesalers, running social media campaigns with Catholic influencers, organizing webinars around sites and themes of importance to Catholics, and encouraging pilgrimage organizers abroad to create and promote Jubilee packages in Israel.
The Jubilee is a holy year, inviting only Catholic believers to seek forgiveness. In Rome’s St. Peter’s Basilica, there are holy doors that grant forgiveness to those who pass through them during the Jubilee. Similarly, forgiveness can be sought in Israel at any of three basilicas: the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, or the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth.
To help spread out visitor traffic throughout the year, the Vatican has designated pilgrimage weeks for various groups, including artists, choirs, athletes, and educators.
The Christian community is typically less affected by security concerns, placing greater significance on religious events. Just two weeks ago, a large delegation of Evangelical Christians from 55 countries visited Israel for the Feast of Tabernacles, despite the ongoing war.
The Tourisms Ministry's hope in the Jubilee Year is understandable. Israel has been facing an escalating tourism crisis since the war began, and foreign airlines have halted flights to Ben Gurion Airport. The primary beneficiaries of this wave of pilgrims—anticipated by the ministry—would be Jerusalem and Nazareth.
This year, only about a million tourists are expected, compared to 4.5 million in the pre-COVID peak. The Tourism Ministry estimates that revenue losses due to the war will amount to approximately 17.4 billion shekels, with businesses reliant on tourism bearing the brunt. In northern Israel, hotels have closed, with some already announcing they cannot hold out if the war continues.
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