West Bank tourism up 50%

Bethlehem - Palestinian Authority Tourism and Antiquities police said tourism in the occupied Palestinian territories increased during March, with a considerable rise in guests registered in local hotels.

A police report said 464,000 tourists traveled to the West Bank, 137,000 of whom were international passport holders, while 83,000 were Palestinians with Israeli citizenship, living inside the Green Line.

The number of guests staying in hotels saw a 50% increase compared with last year's March figures, the report said, noting that 81,153 travelers booked into hotels, including 70,047 foreign nationals, 9,426 locals, and 1,681 Palestinians with Israeli citizenship. Last March, only 39,521 tourists stayed in West Bank hotels, police wrote.

Tourism police further said they solved 73 cases related to securing antiquities and cultural heritage, having discovered six new antiquities in the West Bank, and 19 cases related to possession of antiquities.

Soucrced= ETN