The Alternative Tourism Group (ATG) is a Palestinian NGO specialising in tours and pilgrimages that include critical examinations of the history, culture, and politics of the Holy Land.
Established in 1995, ATG operates according to the tenets of justice tourism, that is, tourism that holds as its central goals the creation of economic opportunities for the local community, positive cultural exchange between guest and host through one-on-one interaction, the protection of the environment, and political/historical education.
ATG works to encourage all tourism operators to abandon exploitive mass tourism and to adopt practices that positively affect the host population. Through these methods, ATG seeks to promote a positive image of Palestine and its people and to contribute to the establishment of a just peace in the area.
ATG works with a wide range of groups and delegations that include:
- International solidarity groups
- Academic and fact-finding delegations
- Church groups concerned with issues of social justice
- Diplomats, journalists and researchers
- NGOs and political organizations
- Tourists and pilgrims groups
The Alternative Tourism Group is a signatory to the Code of Conduct for Tourism in the Holy Land, produced by the Palestinian Initiative for Responsible Tourism. Available here.
