Israel has launched a major campaign to lure European tourists. But as The World's Gerry Hadden reports, the recent violence in Gaza is not exactly a selling point.
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MARCO WERMAN: Another country in the Middle East would love to welcome visitors, but Israel's not doing so well in that regard. The Jewish state has launched a major campaign to get tourists from abroad to come take a look. The country has focused its efforts on European tourism fairs, including a big one in Spain. The World's Gerry Hadden reports from Barcelona.
GERRY HADDEN: Using television spots, Israel's tourism ministry is selling the country as a friendly, relaxing place to vacation. But according to the same ministry, fewer and fewer people are biting. Tourism was up in 2008, but so far this year it has plummeted. Travel agents confirm that. Maria Nou owns Sarria Travel here in Barcelona. She says since the Israeli military began its assault on Gaza, no one has inquired about Israeli holiday packages. She says, “It's a shame because it's a country with great potential. But people are afraid to go there.†Afraid or angry. Citizens across Europe have been staging big protests against what many see as Israel's disproportionate response to Hamas's rocket fire. Zvti Lotan is the Director of Marketing for Israel in Europe. He says many people don't realize that the Gaza conflict is contained far to the south of most Israeli tourist sites. He says tourists are in the dark about what's really going on, in part because of unfair news coverage. He says, “Western media portray what Israel does and what the Palestinians do very differently. So now,†he says, “people who were thinking of coming are now canceling or postponing.†Lotan's been at an international tourism fair in Madrid, trying, he says, to promote the real deal on Israel. But Lotan's up against some bad publicity that goes beyond the current Gaza crisis. A Spanish judge is pressing charges against 6 Israeli civilian and military leaders for a bombing in Gaza back in 2002. The one-ton bomb killed a Hamas leader, but it also killed several women and children. Spain accuses the Israelis of crimes against humanity. For The World, I'm Gerry Hadden, in Barcelona.
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