Israel Trips for Jewish Youths Expand

(RNS) Jewish organizations are aiming to send more North American teens and young adults than ever to Israel this year, focusing on increasing current numbers and reaching out to new groups. Taglit-Birthright Israel, which takes 18- to 26-year-olds on its 10-day...

Massive Pentecostal Meeting Means Massive Bucks for City

ST. LOUIS (RNS) When is a church convention more than just another church convention? When 40,000 saints from the Church of God in Christ come marching in and relocate the year’s largest convention from one cash-strapped city to another. For the first time in more...

Zacchaeus’ Tree Now a Top Tourist Destination

JERUSALEM (RNS) A huge sycamore tree that some believe was climbed by Zacchaeus the tax collector to get a better view of Jesus is the centerpiece of a new tourism campaign by the Palestinian government. The tree is located in Jericho, the first city conquered by...

Stewardship, Hospitality Inform Tourism’s Ethics

Tourism is a form of travel for pleasure involving transactions between vendors and clients for goods and services. While there was an inn at Bethlehem, and probably also at Sodom, tourism as we know it is a modern phenomenon. Even in the 16th century, the practice of...