We call on corporations, in the tourism sector and elsewhere, to follow in the footsteps of Booking.com and show pioneership by respecting the demands and wishes of their customers, many of whom growingly ask for firms to adopt ethical decisions.

7amleh welcomes Booking.com’s decision to introduce a warning to customers visiting listings in unlawful Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Booking.com’s commitment is a step in the right direction. The company has taken a clear stand against the violation of international law as well as the UN guidelines of business and human rights principles. It has brought transparency to the next level by allowing its clients to have information on international law violations when visiting the Occupied Palestinian Territory (oPt). 

Many international tourism businesses operating in the oPt contribute to entrenching and normalising the Israeli military occupation and the systematic discrimination against Palestinians. They do so by showcasing the settlements as legitimate accommodations, not infrastructures built in breach of international law. 

Booking.com’s warning will inform users that the area is ‘occupied’ and ‘visiting the area may be accompanied by an increased risk to safety and human rights or other risks to the local community and visitors’. As we recognize the company’s positive move as a partial success, we furthermore encourage the firm, as well as Airbnb and other tourism companies, to take further actions that comply with the international human rights law. They can and should discourage the presence of tourists in settlements, and as a result cease contributing to their sustainability. 

We call on corporations, in the tourism sector and elsewhere, to follow in the footsteps of Booking.com and show pioneership by respecting the demands and wishes of their customers, many of whom growingly ask for firms to adopt ethical decisions. Working to end systematic discrimination agaisnt certain groups offers an opportunity for us all to demonstrate our shared humanity. The dismantlement of Israel’s occupation requires a coordinated and large-scale response by stakeholders worldwide. Let us embrace and endorse Booking.com and others in their upholding principles of freedom, justice and equality.