Ministry allocates NIS 1M grant for gospel trail projects
Tourism Ministry to sponsor grants for entrepreneurs in areas along recently-developed Gospel Trail
The Ministry of Tourism will invest NIS 1 million (approx. $270,000) on grants for entrepreneurs in areas along the recently-developed Gospel Trail.
As of today, the investment amount specified is 500,000 NIS and will grow to about one million NIS based on the amount requested. Details of the Director-General’s directive on the matter will be presented to investors and senior executives in the tourism industry from the north of Israel at a conference to be held in Kibbutz Lavi on May 15, 2012.
After an investment of NIS 2 million ($530,000), the Tourism Ministry is allocating an additional one million NIS to tourism projects in the areas close to the Gospel Trail which follows the path that, according to Christian beliefs, Jesus walked.
Based on the Director-General’s directive, which can be found on the Tourism Ministry's website, grants will be given of up to 24% of the total investment cost for establishing accommodation units, and grants of up to 30% of the total investment cost for establishing small tourism-related businesses.
The deadline for submitting a request for the grants is July 1 2012.
The areas in which entrepreneurs are eligible for the grant include, among others, Beit Keshet, Wadi Hamam, Kfar Zeitim, Kafr Kanna, Migdal, Tzippori, Kibbutz Lavi and Arbel, and other areas that are about 500 meters around the Gospel Trail that starts at Mount Precipice in Nazareth and ends in Capernaum.
The rise in Christian tourism to Israel and the amount of travelers on the Gospel Trail has created a significant need for establishing accommodation units and other tourist attractions near the trail. As such, the Tourism Ministry's Director-General, Noaz Bar Nir, will present the details of the grants and the potential in tourism attractions on the rout of the Gospel Trail to entrepreneurs in a special conference on May 15 in Kibbutz Lavi.
The Gospel Trail follows the path Jesus is believed to have walked from Nazareth to Capernaum, and established the center of his ministry in the Galilee. After about 5 years of renovation, development and upgrading of the trail at a cost of about 3 million NIS with the participation of the Ministry of Tourism and the Jewish National Fund, the trail was inaugurated November 2011. To date, the Gospel Trail has been visited by thousands of tourists from around the world.
Discussing the grants Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov said: "The Gospel Trail represents a significant anchor for incoming tourism to Israel, in particular for Christian tourists and pilgrims who come to Israel for a spiritual experience in the Holy Land.
"We are happy to assist the entrepreneurs in this area of the periphery, who recognize in the field of tourism an economic and employment opportunity and can thereby take part in enriching and diversifying the tourism product ".
