Ramallah - "Jerusalem" dot com - A memorandum of understanding was signed in Ramallah, today, Wednesday, within the framework of promoting domestic tourism and supporting hotels and tourist facilities, which were greatly affected as a result of the Corona pandemic.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed today, at the Arab Hotels Association in Ramallah, with the Small and Medium Enterprises Assistance for Recovery and Recovery Project (SMART), funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by the Development Alternatives Company (DAI), a qualitative agreement to launch a promotional campaign for the Palestinian tourism sector, which is the first of its kind and under the slogan "Give us a mile."

The campaign, which will last for three months, aims to promote the various tourist areas in Palestinian cities and villages and encourage domestic tourism trips to these areas, in addition to supporting hotels that have been severely damaged in the past years as a result of the impact of the Corona pandemic.

The signing ceremony was attended by Mr. Saeed Abu Hijleh, SMART Project Manager, and Mr. Elias Al-Arja, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Arabian Hotels Association.

The promotional campaign is scheduled to be launched through several media and marketing platforms, and it includes the production of a special song, in addition to the production of a video for many tourist areas throughout the West Bank and East Jerusalem for several attractive tourist areas.

It will also cooperate with many media professionals and influencers on social media to shed more light on these tourist areas and encourage visitors to come to these areas and explore them themselves.

Mr. Saeed Abu Hijleh, SMART Project Manager, confirmed that the project aims to support the Palestinian private sector, especially the tourism sector, which was greatly affected as a result of the Corona pandemic, and that the campaign is part of the program to support the recovery of the tourism sector, which was launched in November from In 2021, a study was conducted to determine market requirements and target groups to stimulate domestic tourism by encouraging local tourists to visit and reside in the areas of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. In addition to continuing to support hotels and the craft sector to recover and help them return to work as it was before the Corona pandemic.

Abu Hijleh added that during the last period, work has been done within the hotel recovery support program to provide financing grants on the basis of cost-sharing for approximately 30 hotels in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, which focused on supporting the capital expenditures necessary to restore hotels to work.

Abu Hijleh indicated that the assistance included improvements and renovations to hotel facilities, repair and replacement of vital equipment and systems, with the aim of restarting these hotels and preparing them to receive guests according to the best services.

In turn, Mr. Elias Al-Arja, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Arab Hotels Association, thanked the SMART project for the joint cooperation and financing of the campaign, noting that hotels were greatly affected during the Corona pandemic, and that many hotels closed their doors as a result of high operational costs and the lack of domestic tourism during the pandemic period, which led to To great damage to the facilities of these hotels.

Al-Arja added that the launch of the campaign and the grants provided through the project will reflect positively on the Palestinian tourism sector, which employs approximately 40,000 people, and is a basic source of income for hundreds of Palestinian families working in this important and vital sector.

The Arab Hotels Association, the partner in the campaign, has 82 members, and the member hotels include more than six thousand hotel rooms ready to receive tourist trips.

The SMART Project is a four-year, $40 million project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The project works to help Palestinian companies to overcome the losses resulting from the Corona pandemic and put them on the path of sustainable economic growth. As a result of the Corona pandemic, 93% of Palestinian companies were negatively affected, as their production operations and services provided decreased, and their sales recorded a decrease of nearly 50%.

In its first year, the SMART project aims to provide support to more than 100 Palestinian companies (small and medium enterprises and start-ups) to recover from the economic impacts of the Corona pandemic, through small grants, training in new technologies, and market access support.

The support provided by the project will contribute to increasing the competitiveness of small and medium-sized companies and startups, and providing the necessary tools to increase their market share and increase job opportunities.

The project will also widely contribute to economic growth and self-reliance in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.
The project gives priority to companies that comply with environmental protection standards and controls, as well as companies supported by youth, women, and marginalized groups in society, and encourages these groups and companies that enjoy growth opportunities to apply for grants through the project's website www.smartproject.ps.