What is NEPTO

NEPTO represents a group of independent non-profit organizations, each working to share the best of Palestine with travelers from around the world.
NEPTO believes in the kind of tourism that supports local communities, protects the heritage, and respects the environment of Palestine.
NEPTO also want to offer our guests something more than the conventional tour itineraries: a chance to explore Palestine's culture, to learn about its politics, to meet its people, and to share in the vibrancy of its contemporary life.

NEPTO's Mission

To develop, consolidate, coordinate, and promote the humanistic, cultural, heritage, historic, solidarity, and environmental programs and to incorporate them into the Palestinian tourism and cultural developmental frame through the establishment of a representative coalition of common efforts producing tourism programs with a distinct Palestinian identity.

NEPTO's Goals

• Developing the Palestinian tourism product, its competitive advantage, and the general impression about it and reflecting a positive Palestinian Image.
  
  
• Consolidating all available programs and activities that can be incorporated in the tourism package (both domestic and international).
  
  
• Promoting these programs with MOTA, the private tourism sector and the municipalities.
  
  
• Initiating a new tourism sector representing the humanistic, cultural, heritage, historic, and solidarity programs that has the potential to provide a Palestinian flavor to the existing tourism product and to its competitive capability.
  
  
• Networking with associated organizations.
  
  
• Creating job and employment opportunities, and reducing unemployment and brain drain.
  
  
• Advocating laws and regulations to protect the architectural heritage.
  
  
• Creating cultural, economic and artistic leaders and lifting the overall awareness of the local communities.
  
  
• Creating the proper, basic and secure environment for receiving and serving guests.
  
  
• Securing the geographical distribution when consolidating and coordinating programs.
  
  

Membership and Regulations

• The coalition is an independent representative entity for all legally registered organizations.
  
  
• The coalition guarantees the independence of each member organization. Its coordinating effort is mandatory to all member organizations.
  
  
• The above listed goals are preliminary.
  
  
• The coalition must be registered with the Palestinian authorities.
  
  
• Membership is incentive based.
  
  
• Membership is open to all legally registered civil society and semi-governmental organizations. The private sector is excluded.
  
  
• The coalition is an umbrella organization for all participating organizations.
  
  

Member Organizations

The following organizations are all potential members of the coalition when it completes its registration based on the regulations and recommendations listed above. These organizations have attended the preparatory meetings of the coalition.

• Alternative Tourism Group (ATG)
• Artas Folklore Centre (AFC)
• Committee for the promotion of Tourism in the Governorate of Jericho (CPTJ)
• Environmental Education Center (EEC)
• Hanthalah Cultural Centre (HCC)
• Hebron Rehabilitation Committee (HRC)
• Hebron-France Association for Cultural Exchange (AECHF)
• Holy Land Trust (HLT)
• Jerusalem Tourism Cluster (JTC)
• Joint Advocacy Initiative (JAI)
• Palestinian Association for Cultural Exchange (PACE)
• Palestine Fair Trade Association (PFTA)
• Palestine Wildlife Society (PWLS)
• Riwaq – Centre for Architectural Conservation
• Rozana Association
• Sabastiya Cultural Youth Center (SCYC)
• Siraj Center for Holy Land Studies (Siraj)
• Sunbula