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News Brief No. 6; September 26, 1998
Together to the Year 2000
The local community contributes to the
Millennium celebrations The countdown has started. Only 14 months remain until the start of the Millennium celebrations in Bethlehem and preparations are speeding up. But the development of the infrastructure is only part of the preparations for those celebrations. It is the contact with the local people that makes the visit to Bethlehem an experience. Living in a town that is a world-known tourist site is not an easy task. Not only tour guides and hotel personnel are in contact with visitors but also shop owners, taxi drivers, inhabitants of the old city and school children. To make the celebrations a success, each and everyone has to contribute in his respective field.
Various activities of the Bethlehem 2000 Project are geared to be informative to the local communities and involve them in the preparations. The Bethlehem 2000 Public Awareness Campaign includes open meetings to inform the citizens about the importance of tourism for the region and how to deal with the tourists that will come to the historic centres along the new tourism circuits. Taking up road works and rehabilitation projects are announced in these gatherings, and issues such as sanitation and beautification programmes of the town concerning signs, shop decorations and kiosks are being discussed with the concerned groups.
To reach out to all citizens, the “Friends of Bethlehem 2000 Society” is being formed. 200 active members from Bethlehem University, private and governmental schools, the Red Crescent, local sports clubs, cultural and social centres and the scouts are working to convey the message of Bethlehem 2000 to their groups. Through lectures, distribution of information material and various other activities, they inform about the objectives and the possibilities of participation and prepare the public for the influx of tourists to Bethlehem. Dust and dirt from the many construction sites affect the daily life of Bethlehem, but the inhabitants of the Bethlehem region endure the hardships knowing that in the end they will benefit from the increased numbers of visitors which will provide more jobs and sustain economic development. NEWS
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