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Sat 12 Dec 2008Eye opening voyage to Bethlehem
GO MEDITERRANEAN:Michael Parsonsgets a chance to see the Holy Land during a cruise from Cyprus that stops off in Israel
IN THE LITTLE town of Bethlehem there will be plenty of room at the inn this Christmas. Tourism has plummeted in areas of the Holy Land under the control of the Palestinian Authority. Locals say the biggest drop has been from Ireland and the US. Walid, a Christian Arab tour guide, recalls when he used to have groups of Irish a few times a day. Not any more. At the Herodion souvenir shop, on Manger Street, the anxious sales staff proffer hand-carved olive-wood cribs and mother-of-pearl rosary beads while its owner, Costandi Canavati, says: "We are in a very bad situation due to the lack of tourists."
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