Bethlehem: After two years of sluggish business due to the coronavirus pandemic, Bethlehem is now experiencing a business boom, boosting morale in the city ahead of the Christmas holiday.

With tour groups, the streets are crowded. The vital tourism industry appears unaffected by months of deadly Israeli-Palestinian fighting, as hotels are fully booked.

After suffering lockdowns and travel restrictions in recent years, travelers are eager to visit the Holy Land's shrines, according to Elias Arja, director of the Bethlehem Hotel Association. He expects the recovery to last into next year.

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According to Arja, owner of the Bethlehem Hotel, "We anticipate that 2023 will be booming and business will be excellent because everyone in the world, and especially Christian religious tourists, want to return to the Holy Land.

Recently, dozens of groups from nearly every continent gathered to take selfies in front of the Church of the Nativity, which was built on the site where Christians believe Jesus was born. In nearby Manger Square, a large Christmas tree lit up, and tourists flocked to shops to buy olive wood crosses and other souvenirs.

In Bethlehem, which is a few miles southeast of Jerusalem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Christmas is usually the busiest time of year for tourists. Thousands of pilgrims and tourists came from around the world to celebrate before the pandemic.

However, the pandemic saw a huge drop in those figures. Even though the tourism industry has not fully recovered, the huge inflow of tourists is a positive development.

At the Bethlehem New Store, the olive wood factory she and her brother both co-own, Saliba Nissen stood next to a manger about 1.3 meters (4 feet) wide and said, "The town became a ghost town." On the bus tour, Americans crowded the store.

Since the Palestinians do not have their own airport, most foreign travelers travel through Israel. During Christmas week, the Israeli Ministry of Tourism estimates 120,000 Christian visitors.

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When compared to last year, when the country's skies were closed to most foreign visitors, this is much better than the all-time high of nearly 150,000 visitors in 2019. The ministry intends to provide special shuttle buses between Jerusalem and Bethlehem on Christmas. To assist Eve travelers, as has happened in the past.

Bethlehem mayor Hanna Hanania said, "God willing, this year we will go back to where things were before the coronavirus, and even better."

He said this year's festival is expected to include participation of international delegations, artistes and singers. About 15,000 people took part in the recent lighting of Bethlehem's Christmas tree, he said.

While he acknowledged that the recent violence and Israel's ongoing occupation of the West Bank always has some impact on tourism, he said that the recovery has begun to pick up pace.

In the 1967 Middle East War, Israel captured the West Bank. In some areas of the territory, including Bethlehem, the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority has limited autonomy.
In the Holy Land, the Christmas season comes after a bloody year.

Fighting between Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem has claimed the lives of 150 Palestinians and 31 Israelis, according to official figures, making 2022 the deadliest year since 2006.

Although stone-throwing youths and some people who did not participate in the violence have also been killed, Israel claims that most of those killed were Palestinian militants.

Earlier this month, fighting, mainly concentrated in the northern West Bank, reached the Bethlehem area when an Israeli soldier was killed in the nearby Desheche refugee camp. To protest the killing, Palestinians held a one-day strike throughout Bethlehem.

However, the locals are determined to keep the spirit of the holiday alive despite the fighting.

Bassem Giacomo, the third-generation owner of Blessing Gift Shop, which his grandfather founded in 1925, claimed that the pandemic had a more negative impact on his company than the violence and political unrest.

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He claimed that the jewellery, religious icons and statues made of olive wood would take years to heal while being covered in sawdust from carving them. Ten people used to work here. He now employs half that number, and depending on demand, sometimes even less.

According to Giacomo, the political climate has an effect, but not significantly. We've had it for 60 to 70 years, and it lasts for about a month before it stops and the tourists start coming back.