The CEO of the Israeli Government Tourism Corporation, Elad Erenfeld, spoke on Thursday during the broadcast from the "Planting in Their Memory" Tu B'Shvat event at the burnt-out car lot containing some 1,600 vehicles from the October 7th massacre and spoke about memorializing the massacre through memorial tourism.
Erenfeld noted the contradicting themes of the event: "On the one hand you have the burnt cars behind us, and on the other, it's Tu B'Shvat, which symbolizes something that's much more alive. We are planting in their memory, that is the name the Ministry of Heritage and the Israeli Government Tourism Corporation chose to give the event. The south, which was known for nice and colorful local tourism, has unfortunately turned into memorial tourism. We will also what we've seen over the past year, but we will be turned to the future, to regrowth. We want to start this morning with hope."
Erenfeld added: "This place was born from a decision to collect all the cars that were damaged in all scenes on October 7th. In the beginning, it was for property tax purposes, but immediately after that, it was transferred to us, with the lot containing 1,560 cars. When you see this, you don't understand that it's a national historic asset. We got the lot empty, with shocking images, it was a crime scene, and the cars were full of bloodstains, broken booster seats, and surfboards that were broken - a difficult sight."
Regarding the location turning into a tourism site, he stated: "With time, many ambassadors came and we understood that it will become a monument. Today, 3,000 visitors come a day, and we've already passed two million visitors - various delegations and private individuals, and today too, as we speak, we see delegations arriving. Of course, we took care of physical and technological security, and we have dealt with attempts to rob and loot the site, the issue is already being taken care of."
According to him, the combination of tourism and commemoration is the key to maintaining the memory. "We think all the time how to create the correct balance that will combine commemoration and community tourism. This combination tells the site's success since it has the most potential for commemorating October 7th. The combination of commemoration and tourism exists in other places in the world as well, such as the 9/11 memorial site in Manhattan and the museum that was built near Ground Zero. We here are also developing 'smart tourism,' while thinking how the 1,600 burnt cars at the site could best express the feeling of commemoration that we want to convey."
Eranfeld noted that as part of the further development, "each car will receive a barcode that can be scanned and it will tell you the story of the victims from all sectors."
Eranfeld concluded that the Israeli Government Tourism Corporation is working in other fields of memorial tourism, "We work as the executive arm of the Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Heritage. Along with this site, we are at the stage of planning additional commemoration and memorial tourism projects, including the development of hotels in the area, and other initiatives such as food trucks and bike paths that will connect the site with the area."