A little about the Travel & Encounter Program

How it began

Travel & Encounter was founded in 2000 to coordinate the “Pilgrimage of Peace” which was a reenactment of the Journey of the Magi. The pilgrimage began in Baghdad and arrived in Bethlehem on December 25, 2000 to celebrate the millennium birth of the Prince of Peace.

T&E aims to raise international awareness by providing cross cultural and experimental learning opportunities in both Palestine and Israel. T&E offers a diverse range of travel programs that are tailored to meet all demands and aspirations ranging from religious pilgrimages, fact finding missions, and annual programs such as the Palestine Summer Encounter and the Home Rebuilding.

The purpose of the T&E program is to build personal relationships between the peoples of Palestine and the rest of the world. It is through face-to-face interactions that mutual understanding and respect between diverse people can be achieved. We, as travel consultants, make sure to fulfill T&E’s second purpose: supporting a just, sustainable local economy by leading our groups to visit small businesses, in times using homestead families, and visiting local traditional artisans that a usual travel tour would not even touch upon. Our hope is that through our program we are able to provide income for families while we build on a sustainable and just industry that represents Palestine in its entirety.