The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities issue a joint press release on the World Tourism Day, 27/09/2025

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), in cooperation with the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, jointly issued a press release on the World Tourism Day on September 27 of each year.

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has set the theme of the World Tourism Day for 2025 to be “Tourism and Sustainable Transformation".

On this occasion, the most prominent tourism indicators in Palestine were highlighted, reflecting an improvement in the tourism sector compared to the previous year, despite the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, as follows:

A Significant Increase in the Number of Hotel Guests in the West Bank during the First Half of 2025

According to the Hotel Survey Data for the first half of 2025 issued by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the number of hotel guests in the West Bank during the first half of 2025 increased by 103% compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching 121.4 thousand guests who spent about 255.4 thousand overnight stays.

Ramallah and Al-Bireh hotels received the largest number of guests with 35% of the total number of hotel guests, followed by hotels in Jericho and Al-Aghwar Governorate with 22.1%, followed by hotels in Bethlehem Governorate with 20%, while hotels in Nablus Governorate with 18%.

It is worth noting that 53.3% of hotel guests were inbound visitors from Palestinians residing in the 1948 territories, followed by domestic guests with 24.7%, while guests from other nationalities constituted 22%.

Number of Hotel Guests in the West Bank by Governorate,

during the First Half of the Years (2021-2025)

-: No observations

A Noticeable Increase in the Number of Inbound and Domestic Same-day Visitors to the West Bank during the First Half of 2025[1]

According to same-day visitor data from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities for the first half of 2025, more than 2,626 thousand inbound visits (same-day visitors) to tourist sites in the West Bank during the first half of 2025, compared to 1,677 thousand in the first half of 2024, with a noticeable increase of 57%. The number of same-day visitors consists of 1,584 thousand Palestinians who reside in the 1948 territories and 1,042 thousand arrivals from abroad.

An Increase in the Number of Employees Working in the Tourism Sector in the First Quarter of 2025 in the West Bank

Labor force data for the second quarter of 2025 indicates that the number of employees working in tourism activities increased by 40% during the first quarter of 2025 in the West Bank compared to the same period in 2024, reaching 33.4 thousand employees. This constitutes 5.3% of the total number of employees in the West Bank during the first quarter of 2025.

The number of employees in the tourism sector is distributed by employment status as follows: 25.5 thousand wage employees (24.0 thousand males and 1.5 thousand females), 3.7 thousand self-employed (3.5 thousand males and 0.2 thousand females), 3.3 thousand employers, and the rest are unpaid family members.

Impact of the Israeli Aggression on Tourism Activity in Gaza Strip (Establishments and Workers) for the Second Consecutive Year

Estimates indicate that the systematic destruction caused by the Israeli aggression against Gaza Strip led to the total destruction of about 4,992 establishments operating in tourism activities. These included 3,450 establishments in restaurants and beverage serving activities (69.1% of tourism establishments in Gaza Strip), 921 in creative, arts, entertainment and recreation activities (18.4%), 182 in manufacturing and selling handicrafts, and souvenirs, and 173 in hotels, accommodation, and similar establishments.

Number of Facilities in Gaza Strip that were Completely Destroyed in 2025

The aggression also caused 15,265 workers in the tourism sector to lose their jobs, including 10,887 workers in restaurants and beverage serving activities (71.3% of those working in tourism activities in Gaza Strip), 2,277 in creative, arts, entertainment, and recreation activities (14.9%), and 964 in hotels, accommodation, and similar establishments.

Number of Workers Who Lost their Jobs in the Tourism Sector in Gaza Strip 2025