Multi-faith travel cooperative Breaking Bread Journeys will be introduced to the US travel industry for the first time at the National Tour Association annual conference, currently taking place in Los Angeles.
Breaking Bread is a unique collaboration between two tourism professionals across the cultural divide in the Holy Land.
The company was established by two tour operators, Palestinian Christina Samara, owner of Samara Travel Agency, and Elisa Moed, founder of Israel-based Travelujah.
The concept was made possible with support from the United States Agency for International Development in the West Bank which focuses on areas such as tourism to encourage peace and stability in the region.
"We realized travel helps in the pursuit of stability, prosperity and peace in the entire Holy Land, so we designed special Palestinian and Israeli cultural and historic tours that both of our companies have long been offering," said co-founder Christina Samara.
Tours will offer opportunities to engage with the local communities for faith-based groups and other market segments, according to partner Elisa Moed.
Tourism to the Holy Land benefits both Israelis and Palestinians.
Visitation to the Palestinian Territories has increased 40% since 2007 and welcomed an estimated 1.9 million visitors last year.
Over 3.5 million tourists visited Israel in 2013.
The duo will be meeting tour operators, travel media and faith travel organizers during the conference and they also plan to exhibit at the upcoming New York Times Travel Show on February 28.
