Green Olive Tours

* When you invest you are betting that the company's value will reach almost $1.5mil.

Founded in 2007, Green Olive Tours is a Collective and Social Enterprise of Israelis and Palestinians dedicated to building a future together. We are the leading alternative tour company to Israel and Palestine providing tours that visit historic sites and promote democratic values and human rights. Seed funding came from our Partners, family, and sweat equity. Join the Green Olive Community. Invest in our future, and yours.

Green Olive Highlights
• $5 million in total revenue. • Bootstrapped and profitable since inception.
• 25+% financial growth in 2017 and 2018
• 50,000+ clients over 12 years • 200+ members/investors in 22 countries
• 10 Working Partners in Palestine and Israel - 5 Palestinian & 5 Israeli

The Story of Green Olive Tours

For twelve years our team has developed a solid foundation for our tours. Our working partner team includes accomplished entrepreneurs, managers, and experts in the history, religions, and geopolitics of Israel and Palestine. The partners work closely together to ensure the satisfaction of all our guests. Most importantly we are a combination of Palestinians and Israelis working together, providing needed services for visitors to the country, and advocating for peace, justice, and equality for everyone in the land.

Currently, 29 day-tours and 7 multi-day tours are offered every week. Also offered on a rolling basis are University and institutional programs for college credit, volunteer programs, camps and a focus on cooperation and collaboration with local organizations.

We pride ourselves on great customer service and high satisfaction ratios. Our tours offer people to people interaction between visitors & locals. Our fair trade practices benefit local communities, and our advocacy for human rights, justice, and democratic values is second to none.

A Leader In Social Tourism

Social tourism goes by many names - Alternative Tourism, Sustainable Tourism, Political Tourism, Eco-Tourism, Fair Trade Tourism, Educational Tourism etc. Over the past decade, Green Olive Tours has helped define these categories and spurred the development of this important sector of tourism in Israel and Palestine. From humble beginnings as a start-up business, we have grown into an industry leader.

By scaling up our operations with your help, and opening our first guesthouse, the Collective will be able to bring our unique style of touring to a greater number of people.

Plans for Growth

During the next five years, we plan to scale up our operations and create a regional network of Green Olive Guest Houses to complement our tours, further integrating our activities with local populations. Beginning in the Palestinian town of Bethlehem, guesthouses also planned for Tiberius, Amman, and Sinai.

Our mix of dormitory rooms and private rooms, with large shared and public spaces will create an environment where visitors and locals can get to know each other. The guesthouses will host events to attract the local population, such as music performances, lectures, art openings and the like.

The Green Olive flagship guest house in Bethlehem will offer many value-added services to our guests, including volunteer opportunities, classes in Arabic, Palestinian cuisine, traditional embroidery, and Palestinian history. These classes and seminars will draw on the considerable expertise available in the Bethlehem area.

It will take up to two years to establish our first guesthouse.

• January - June 2020 Locate a property.
• June - December 2020 design and planning permissions.
• January - June 2021 Remodelling building & recruiting staff.
• June - December 2021 Open in time for Christmas.

The second guesthouse will be in Tiberius on the Sea of Galilee, which is also experiencing a shortage of hotel rooms. and is another important hub for foreign visitors.

Timeline

A Different Kind of Travel - Go Beyond!

Visitors often arrive in the Holy Land expecting to sun themselves on the beaches of Tel Aviv, visit a few historical sites, and maybe eat some awesome hummus. Then out of curiosity, they take a Green Olive Tour, and for many, their life is transformed. Transform your life. Invest! Visit!

Perks

We all love a freebee. Invest now and receive a special thank you. Lunch with a Green Olive Partner is a great introduction to the country.

* Non-transferable, **May be gifted to another, ***Any in-house package tour

Our Flagship Tours and Programs

Green Olive Tours provides guests with:

• A cultural, historical and political overview of Palestine & Israel.
• Visits to cultural, historical and religious sites.
• An experience of the political facts on the ground.
• Personal visits with Palestinians and Israelis.

Analysis and commentary based on:

• Human Rights
• Cultural and political self determination
• The right to live in safety
• The right to political freedom
• The right to a home

The complex mosaic of religions, nationalities, and political viewpoints in the Holy Land are explored in depth, including interaction with Palestinians and Israelis, visits to areas that embody the history and current status of the conflict, and the gulf between Israel's Jewish and Palestinian-Arab citizens. Possibilities for reconciliation are explored.

Tours also visit sites of historical, cultural and religious interest, placing them within the context of the ongoing analysis provided by the guides. Our booklet, 'A Brief Framing of the Israel/Palestine Conflict' has become a definitive text, and is distributed free to guests.

Israel

Tours inside Israel peel back layers of history from the Negev Desert to the hills of the Galilee. Every part of the country was transformed as it developed and absorbed millions of Jewish immigrants, eventually becoming today's high tec powerhouse. Green Olive Tours examines the social and political costs of this development through visits to the destroyed Palestinian villages, exploring the ongoing plight of the Bedouin, and examining the often uneasy relationships between Israel's Jewish and non-Jewish citizens.

Palestine • West Bank • Judea & Samaria

Tours in the Occupied Territories visit the Separation Barrier, Palestinian towns, refugee camps and Israeli settlements. The differing political and legal rights of these neighboring communities are discussed and illustrated by the facts on the ground. Some tours arrange visits with residents of the occupied territories, both Israeli and Palestinian, helping visitors understand the complexities of the relationships.

Gaza

Green Olive has not been able to take clients into the Gaza Strip for many years since it became a closed enclave. However tours are conducted along the Gaza border when security permits, visiting nearby checkpoints and communities.

How is Green Olive Tours Different from the rest?

Most tour companies offer 'classic' tours of one type or another, focusing on the historical, religious, pilgrimage, Nationalist or Zionist aspects of Israel and Palestine. We don't.

• Alternative Day-tours - We offer a variety of day-trips departing from major cities. They include a briefing with maps, political analysis, people-to-people contact, and visits to villages, settlements, Bedouin and refugee camps.

• Immersion Tours are experiences of 3-10 days and include hosting in the homes of Israelis and Palestinians, sharing their family stories, and experiencing generous hospitality. Days are filled with tours of the country and evenings are devoted mostly to home-cooked meals and conversation with the host family.
• Political Study Tours of 1-6 weeks are designed for groups from universities, organisations, and governments. These include structured briefings and discussions, meetings with government officials, NGOs, activists, and businesspeople. Universities in Europe and the USA often offer credit for participating students. Delegations have been hosted from the EU Parliament and the US Congress.
• Pilgrimage Study Tours are offered to religious groups that not only want to explore the roots of their faith, but also want to meet their co-religionists in Israel and Palestine.
• Volunteer Programs enable interested people to contribute to the welfare of refugees, Bedouin and other marginalised people, learning though experience and also touring the country.
• Product sales of craft items produced by these same communities are offered on our e-commerce website at www.madeinpeace.com, further integrating our work with local economic development.

Meet the Partners