October 21, 2014
These guidelines were developed in 2010 at a consultative meeting in Geneva to promote justice tourism for pilgrims to Palestine-Israel. Representing 14 countries, a group of 27 theologians, Palestinian Christian activists and professionals in the tourism industry called on Christian pilgrims to live their faith as they visit the Holy Land going beyond homage of ancient sites to show concern for the Palestinian people living there whose lives are severely constricted by the Israeli occupation of their lands. The meeting was organized by Alternative Tourism Group (ATG) in cooperation with the Ecumenical Coalition on Tourism (ECOT ), Kairos Palestine and the World Council of Churches (WCC) through its initiative the Palestine-Israel Ecumenical Forum (PIEF). ATG is a Palestinian NGO specializing in tours and pilgrimages that incorporate critical examinations of the Holy Land’s history, culture and politics.