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Christian tourism

A new wooden deck at the Qasr al-Yahud baptism site on the banks of the Jordan River, in the West Bank. (Shay Isaacs/Israel Nature and Parks Authority)
February 10, 2026, 8:29 pm
Qasr al-Yahud baptismal site reopens after NIS 25 million facelift
New-look Christan holy site in West Bank includes wide wooden deck for safe access to water, new shower and changing facility, a prayer pergola, and landscaping
By Sue Surkes
Members of a group walk the Way to Jerusalem's fourth stretch, from Latrun to Abu Ghosh, November 6, 2025. (Avi Friedman)
February 7, 2026, 5:49 am
Trading security for spirituality, former official co-launches pilgrimage route to Jerusalem
After an epiphany on a dreary morning, Golan Rice quits El Al job, sets out to co-found the Way to Jerusalem for pilgrims from all walks of life to form connections and share stories
By Sue Surkes
Tourism Minister Haim Katz (middle) and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee (first on the right) at the opening ceremony of the International Mediterranean Tourism Market (IMTM) fair in Tel Aviv, Feb. 3, 2026. (Courtesy of Ronen Horesh)
February 4, 2026, 11:35 am
Israel banks on Christian pilgrims and faith-based travel to drive tourism recovery
Tourism Ministry plans a digital campaign geared to Evangelicals and pro-Israel communities; AI app for Holy Land trips launches with support of US Ambassador Mike Huckabee
By Sharon Wrobel
Tourists take pictures with the Christmas tree in Manger Square, adjacent to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, Dec. 3, 2022. (AP Photo/ Mahmoud Illean)
December 15, 2022, 9:34 am
Bethlehem welcomes back Christmas visitors as post-pandemic tourism soars
Streets are bustling with tour groups and hotels are fully booked, as Israeli-Palestinian tensions appear to be having little effect on the number of holiday tourists
By Sam McNeil
Ethiopian Christian pilgrims attend a Good Friday procession in Jerusalem, Friday, April 14, 2017. (Dan Balilty/AP)
March 14, 2022, 10:10 am
Israel said barring Ethiopian Christian pilgrims from country, for fear they’ll stay
In letter cited by Israeli TV, immigration authorities tell tourism agencies not to let groups because of concerns they won’t return home due to ongoing civil war
By ToI Staff
A man searches for mines near the site of Qasr al Yahud, the place where Jesus is believed to have been baptized, near the West Bank town of Jericho, on December 9, 2018. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)
April 12, 2020, 10:44 am
Just in time for Easter: Jordan River baptismal site is mine-free after 53 years
‘It was like walking into a time capsule, with beer still on the shelf, the tables still laid for dinner,’ says head of UK group who oversaw project at Qasr al-Yahud
By Melanie Lidman
Christian tourists pray inside the Grotto, believed to be the exact spot where Jesus Christ was born, at the Church of the Nativity in the biblical West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 21, 2019. (Musa Al SHAER/AFP)
December 22, 2019, 7:20 pm
At Christmas, Bethlehem says it’s denied full gifts of tourism
Palestinian Hotel Association laments that Israeli organized tour groups only make short visits to Christian pilgrimage city
By AFP and ToI Staff
File: Tourists look out over Jerusalem's Old City, as seen from the rooftop of the Austrian hospice, on a foggy winter day, January 2, 2018. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
December 29, 2018, 4:39 pm
Israel saw record-breaking 4 million tourists in 2018, says tourism ministry
Tourism Minister Yariv Levin hails ‘significant revolution in marketing Israel’ abroad
By ToI Staff
A group of tourists and pilgrims visit the Church of the Nativity, the place where Jesus is said to have been born, in the biblical West Bank town of Bethlehem, on December 12, 2018. (THOMAS COEX / AFP)
December 20, 2018, 6:04 pm
At Jesus’s birthplace, an app is born… to ease crowds
With tourism to Bethlehem on the rise, PA ministry says advance reservation system will shorten lines at entrance to Church of the Nativity
By AFP and ToI Staff
A couple poses for a picture in front of the Grotto of the Nativity, the place where Jesus is said to have been born, inside the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 12, 2018. (Thomas Coex/AFP)
December 17, 2018, 2:15 pm
Bethlehem church mosaics sparkle in time for Christmas
Experts clean, repair surviving fragments of 12th century masterworks at famed Church of the Nativity, some of which were covered by soot for centuries
By Clothilde Mraffko
The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem's Old City forms the backdrop to a tour guide holding up a picture of the ancient Jewish Temple. (Nati Shohat/FLASH90)
October 8, 2018, 1:06 pm
Riled tour guides warn new bill could skew tourists’ Israel experience
Legislation that would allow non-licensed guides for pilgrims and some foreign groups, set for Knesset debate this month, would lower standards, threaten livelihoods, guides say
By Sue Surkes
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wishes 'Merry Christmas' on December 24, 2017. (Screen capture: Facebook video)
December 25, 2017, 12:24 am
In Christmas message, Netanyahu offers Christians personal tours of Israel
Prime minister wishes ‘Merry Christmas’ to citizens of the Jewish state celebrating the festival and to ‘our Christian friends around the world’
By JTA and ToI Staff
Kathie Lee Gifford at the 2016 Greenwich International Film Festival in Greenwich, Connecticut, June 10, 2016. (Noam Galai/Getty Images for GIFF)
September 26, 2017, 3:34 am
Kathie Lee Gifford wrote a book about Israel
‘Today’ co-host chronicles her past four rabbinical study trips to the Holy Land in ‘The Rock, The Road, and the Rabbi’
By Gabe Friedman
Illustrative: A tour bus with an advertisement encouraging tourists to travel to the West Bank settlement bloc of Gush Etzion, January 6, 2015. (Gershon Elinson/Flash90)
April 25, 2017, 12:55 am
Gov’t agency bans all tour groups from West Bank, then says it made a mistake
Population Immigration and Border Authority says letter barring trips was issued in error; will send new missive with guidance for PA-controlled areas
By ToI Staff
Foreign students of the Bethlehem Icon Center work on their painting during their course, in the biblical West Bank city of Bethlehem on April 11, 2017. (AFP PHOTO / THOMAS COEX)
April 13, 2017, 8:03 am
Ancient sacred art resurrected in city of Jesus’s birth
In Bethlehem, a group of enthusiasts specializing in the sacred craft of iconography work to keep the 2,000-year-old tradition alive
By Sarah Benhaida
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