Misezhnikov: There is a need to establish a tourist police force
The Minister of Tourism visited the ancient Nabatean city at the Avdat National Park to examine for himself the damage caused to the site. Misezhnikov: “We must create a national program to manage about 70 main tourist locations in Israel.”
The Minister of Tourism met with Raviv Shapira, director of the southern district of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and discussed with him complex aspects regarding the preservation, development and marketing of Israeli tourist sites. The Minister said that the Ministry of Tourism will examine the possibility of helping to develop sites classified in a national program through the Israel Government Tourist Corporation (IGTC).
According to Minister Misezhnikov, there is a need to create a national program to deal with Israeli tourist sites that will be enforced by tourist police with powers of enforcement and punishment. “We need to build a national program to deal with about 70 main tourist locations in Israel, which contain cultural, historical and religious property important to the Jewish people and the citizens of this country,” he declared.
Misezhnikov: “The national program will require pooling the resources of a number of government offices, among them the Ministry of Tourism, Environmental Protection, Culture and Sport, Homeland Security, Development for the Negev and the Galil and the Ministry of Finance.
At the same time he is of the opinion that there needs to be a change in legislation, enforcing stricter punishments for acts of vandalism. He also stated that in the near future he will invite professionals from the Ministry of Tourism to promote this program.
