million; others in the tourism indus-
try foresee no more than 2.5 million,
the average ahnual figure.
In Bethlehem, Palestinians also are
gearing up to welcome what they
hope will be an onslaught of pilgrims.
About two years ago, they established
the Bethlehem 2000 committee that
is overseeing the city's preparations.
They have revamped the old mar-
ketplace, restored neglected paths and
initiated folklore evenings. What they
would really like is for pilgrims to
stay the night in Bethlehem instead
of spending just the obligatory one-
hour visit to the Church of the
Nativity
For now, though, tour buses and
locals find themselves trapped in traf-
fic jams as Bethlehem rushes to repair
roads and improve the infrastructure
before Christmas. Officials promise
the city will be prepared to welcome
pilgrims for the new millennium
although work will continue beyond
the Jubilee year.
Meanwhile, Israel is eager to put its
best foot forward for what it sees as a
golden opportunity to firmly establish
itself on the world tourism map. It
hopes to entice pilgrims back for
another visit but everything hinges on
how they are received the first time
around.
Eager to give a good first impres-
sion, Israelis have swung into high -
gear. They have spruced up areas in
east Jerusalem, made a path connect-
ing the Mount of Olives to the Old
City walls, and are working on a still-
unfinished promenade opposite the
ancient walls.
They are coordinating with differ-
ent church groups to lengthen open-
ing hours of holy sites, an effort to
allow for more visitors throughout
the day in order to avoid overcrowd-
ing. They have widened roads and
improved sanitation facilities at
numerous sites; they have improved
the entrance to the traditional bap-
tismal site of Jesus near Jericho.
However, other government plans,
such as opening an emergency exit at
the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, ran
aground on centuries of old power
struggles among the Christian denomi-
nations with a claim to the church.
The church is shared by five
denominations. It has only one door

that serves as both exit and entrance;
with the increasing number of visi-
tors, another exit was considered
essential in case of an emergency.
The crowds there now make the
whole experience rather suffocating,
and it is hard to imagine what it will be
like on Easter 2000 when the largest

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The Via Dolorosa will be a popular
tourist site next year.

numbers of visitors are expected.
However, not all Israeli officials
appear interested in the expected tourist
influx. Last month,- Amnon Lipkin-
Shahak, minister of tourism, organized
a meeting to update his colleagues
about the year 2000 preparations. Of
the 12 ministers invited, only three
actually showed up; seven sent repre-
sentatives; and two didn't even do that.
Yadin Roman, editor of Eretz mag-
azine and a consultant to the Israel
Ministry of Tourism, thinks it will
take more than patchwork and longer
hours at holy sites to make tourists
feel welcome.
Israel must change its "message" to
the outside world, he contends.
"The message that is coming out
of Israel now is that this has not been
built or that has not been done," said
Roman, who argues that preparations
for the coming year were begun too
late and are not what they should
have been anyhow.
Recently, hoping to do just that,
Israel invited some 300 foreign travel
agents, tour guides and journalists to

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