Alternive Tourism- Gaza anyone?

I recently completed updating the most recent edition of the Beit Sahour-based Alternative Tourism Group's "Palestine and the Palestinians" travel guide. I wrote a little bit about the project last year (when I was updating the 2006 edition).

But I'm particularly excited about the latest compilation. My job was to work on the Gaza section, since a lot has happened over the past two years. I tried to include as many juicy tidbits as possible to really give an insider's view of Gaza as well as suggestions on local favorite spots and so on. Part of the idea is to challenge the mediated perception of the city.

The book is sold in Europe, USA and Canada. In the USA it's sold through "Palestine On Line Store" http://www.palestineonlinestore.com/books/palestineandpalestinians.htm (though the newest English edition is not yet out on the site)

In the UK it's sold at Olive Cooperative, and it's also available on line through their website www.olivecoop.com.

In Sweden available with our representative Mrs. Inga-Lill Rubensson Inga-Lill@atg-sverige.se and also through ATG's Swedish website www.atg-sverige.se

In Belgium at Vlaams Palestina Komitee vpk@vlaamspalestinakomitee.be

In Switzerland:
Geneva: Off the Shelf Bookshop http://www.offtheshelf.ch
Basel: Bider & Tanner: www.biderundtanner.ch
Carol Sheller Doyle: carol.scheller@freesurf.ch

Canada: Zatoun: info@zatoun.com

ATG also has an annual olive-picking campaign in late October, as well as a Bed and Breakfast program where visitors are housed with local Palestinians in Bethlehem.

The group is a Palestinian NGO that specializes in Fair Trade and "justice tourism", focusing in tours and pilgrimages that include critical examinations of the history, culture, and politics of the Holy Land. In so doing, they try to support the local community through the creation of economic opportunities and positive cultural exchange between guest and host, the protection of the environment, and political/historical education.

ATG works to encourage all tourism operators to abandon exploitative mass tourism and to adopt practices that positively affect the host population. Through these methods, ATG seeks to promote a positive image of Palestine and its people and to contribute to establishment of a just peace in the area.