A joint report by the Central Bureau of Statistics and the Ministry of Tourism, issued today, Thursday, showed that the Israeli occupation destroyed about 5,000 tourist facilities in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the aggression on October 7, while West Bank hotels witnessed a sharp decline in the number of guests during the first half of this year.

According to the estimates of the "Statistics" and Tourism", the systematic destruction of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip has caused the destruction of most tourist facilities, either completely or partially, as about 4992 facilities operating in the tourism sector were destroyed, including 3450 facilities in the restaurant and beverage business, which constitute 69.1% of the tourism facilities in the Gaza Strip, 921 facilities in creative activities, arts and other entertainment activities, which constitute 18.4% of the tourism facilities, 182 facilities in the manufacture and sale of handicrafts and souvenirs, and 173 facilities in the hotel, accommodation and similar facilities activities.

According to the report issued on the occasion of World Tourism Day, the Israeli aggression also caused 15,265 workers in the tourism sector to lose their jobs, including 10,887 workers in restaurant and beverage activities, constituting 71.3% of workers in tourism activities in the Gaza Strip, 2,277 in creative activities, arts and other entertainment activities, constituting 14.9% of workers in tourism activities, and 964 workers in hotel, accommodation and similar facilities activities.

In the West Bank, the report said that the number of hotel guests during the first half of 2024 witnessed a sharp decline of 84.2% compared to the same period of the previous year, as the number of hotel guests in the West Bank reached 59.8 thousand guests who stayed about 138.9 thousand nights.

Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governorate received the largest number of guests, at 26% of the total number of hotel guests, followed by Jericho and the Jordan Valley Governorate at 22.3%, then Nablus Governorate at 22.0%, then Bethlehem Governorate at 10.3%.

It is worth noting that 48% of hotel guests are Palestinian expatriates residing in the 1948 territories, followed by local guests at 35% of the total guests, while the remaining nationalities constituted 17%.

The data indicated that about 464 thousand visits were made by incoming visitors (single-day visitors) to tourist sites in the West Bank during the first half of 2024, compared to 1.921 million in the first half of 2023, a decrease of 75.8%, including 417 thousand visits from Palestinians residing in the 1948 territories and 48 thousand visits from visitors from outside Palestine.

The data also indicates that tourist sites in the West Bank during the first half of 2024 witnessed a decline in the movement of local visitors, resulting in more than 1.2 million visits to tourist sites, gardens and various parks, a decrease of 39% compared to the same period in 2023.

The report estimated a 39.7% decrease in the number of workers in tourism activities during the first quarter of 2024 in the West Bank compared to the same period in 2023, as the number of workers in the tourism sector reached 24,000 workers, which constitutes 3.8% of the total workers in the West Bank during the first quarter of 2024.