By Justine Hemmestad, With Help From Major Itamar Ben David
Tourism in Webster County, Iowa? Why wouldn’t there be? It’s a beautiful place. Iowa is so much more than fly-over country. Visit Fort Dodge says of tourism in Webster County, “The biggest sectors bringing visitors to our area are sporting events, sports tournaments, and races. Continued investment in these events allow the area to host more similar events and recruit participants.” Visit Fort Dodge says that trails and outdoor adventures bring in the next largest crowds of people. Gypsum City OHV Park, Lizard Creek Mountain Bike Trails, and Brushy Creek State Recreation Area all see numerous visitors. With summer and fall likely to see the most tourists in Webster County, concerts and festivals bring people to towns, which contributes to hotels, restaurants, pubs, and other attractions. Visit Fort Dodge further says, “According to the newest Iowa Economic Development Authority study, Iowa Economic Impact of Visitors in Iowa 2022, Webster County received $66 million in visitor spending, 511 jobs were available because of visitor spending, and local government received 3.89 million in taxes. The state of Iowa as a whole received $5.79 million in tax revenues.” Travel with Sarah, who has had two recent books released on traveling Iowa (one is 100 Things To Do In Iowa Before You Die, available on Amazon) said that tourists, “want to know where ‘hidden’ gems are…often hidden in smaller, rural towns.” Pivoting to how Webster County’s tourism information may have a counterpart in Israel, and with an eye toward the war’s aftermath, I showed Iowa’s tourism figures to my friend, Major Itamar Ben Da- vid, a tour guide in Jerusalem in peacetime as well as a council member in the Israeli Tour Guides Association. Like Iowa, Israel is breathtakingly beautiful. Ben David gave me comparable figures to Israel: 2.67 million tourists came to Israel in 2022 (after covid), bringing about 3.75 billion dollars of tax revenue for the country. 3 million tourists came in 2023, bringing in about $4.85 billion in taxes to the country. But he stresses that, like Iowa, tourism isn’t the main money-maker for Israel. Rather, technology and diamonds are Israel’s primary source of GDP, which amounts to $530- 580 billion a year. The curiosity and innovation of Israelis themselves are also significant attributes to Israel as a whole, both economically and socially. As an expert in Israeli tourism, Ben David has been a council member of the Israeli tour guides association for three years and was just elected again a few days ago. Israel has 7-8,000 licensed tour guides, and about 1,200 people in the association. Ben David makes the point to say that he cares deeply about his travelers, and that he creates new friends and family members in different parts of the world as a by- product of selling his tours. His heart is in his work, like his heart is in his Army service, which is something that Israelis find tremendously important. Ben David supervises the social media content for the minister of tourism, in addition to working with the guides association, and his intent is to start a think tank with those who are in charge of marketing strategy in order to discuss how to promote tourism in Israel after the war (which he says will probably take shape in September). In as such, he says that Israel has several brands for which to market tourism, “including the ‘Holy Land,’ walk in the footsteps of Jesus; Israeli nature such as hiking (Israel has four climate zones) and see bird migrations (half a billion birds twice a year), enjoy Israeli wine, have a nice weekend in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, or visit Tel Aviv to enjoy a gay friendly place.” In the face of the current bad publicity that Israel has been getting around the world, Ben David also distinguishes the more life-changing attributes of travel to Israel. Israel, he says, can be known as “a place where one can find answers to pressing personal and national questions and challenges.” In order to find these answers, travelers can learn one of the many key lessons of Israel, which is to let the need to have control over issues go, to have faith in God. People fighting for control are prevalent among world powers as we know them which is a major issue in division. Israel’s biblical history also provides lessons for how to listen, as each letter of a word is listened to in order to understand its meaning. Listening is a key attribute in Jewish culture. Listening takes patience, and patience is in nature. Further, he points out that Israel offers answers regarding societal foundations (Israel is democratic with a strong national identity), as well as is a balanced mix of traditional and modern without sacrificing either of those perspectives. Israel is distinctive in its priority to “have strong families and strong communities (which is a derivative of the sense of collectivism within Judaism), but at the same time have very strong individuals, which is unique about Israel.” Ben David continues to say that Israel can offer answers to some of the world’s broader problems - such as loneliness. “People are aging alone and they may have many years to be old - Israel is a model of communities within cities and villages.” He adds, “In Israel it’s hard to feel alone and there is also the element of our geography - it’s a small country and usually it is hard to get away from the people who care about you.” About the homelessness that plagues much of the world, he says, “The best remedy for it is the community - family, religious community or other immediate circles of community.” This sense of community is strong in Judaism. In Israeli culture, the spirit of invention also runs strong. Ben David says that, “people are encouraged to try and aren’t being socially faltered if they fail. You can try and fail many times and culturally - you’ll be looked up as someone who dared and it doesn’t hurt your social status. That’s why our entrepreneurial ecosystem is strong - people can follow their dreams and usu- ally they have people who will encourage or support them mentally, even if they think they are making a mistake.” In regard to the Ministry of Tourism, Ben David says, “I was told on Friday that the main focus [currently] is on solidarity tours for Jews from the diaspora, and Christian groups who are supportive of Israel.” One such type of solidarity tour is the October 7 tour of terror attack sites in the Negev, interspersed with historical facts of the region, offered by tour guide and survivor of the NOVA massacre, Amit Musaei. Musaei’s intent is for his travelers to “bear witness to what happened, in a most personal way,” to courageously connect to history, to feel it. For this, Musaei returns to the site of his trauma three times a week, though it takes a toll on him. Musaei explains to Business Insider, “I’m in a situation where I need to make a living. I need to support my family. I was unemployed for six months.” Going several times a week to the sight of terror has given him unexpected solace, he says. “It’s therapy for me to overcome my trauma. Every time I share my story, it’s another opportunity to process it.” Danny Herman is another Israeli tour guide who gives similar tours of terror sites where Israelis suffered. He says that due to the stress of repeatedly visiting the ‘death sites,’ he was recently hospitalized with high blood pressure. But Herman is booked with tours to the Gaza Envelope in order to allow people to feel connected with these sites and pay their respects. He calls tours like these, ‘Holocaust tours,’ because it’s like traveling to Auschwitz. The depth of Israeli travel lends to its cathartic nature.
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