Will the new project bring tourists back to Acre?

The Tourism Ministry and the Old Acre Development Company launched last week a new audiovisual spectacle at the Crusader Fortress in Old Acre – a large-scale video-mapping show that turns the ancient stone walls into a live stage of history, culture, and technology.

The new show joins a line of leading historical sites around the world – including Paris, London, and Jerusalem – that have already adopted projection shows on ancient buildings. In the case of Acre, this is a project with an investment of about NIS 15 million, funded by the Tourism Ministry and produced by the Old Acre and Nazareth Development Company Ltd. Is this what will bring tourists to the northern city? We shall see: In Jerusalem, the spectacle was defined as a major success, but Jerusalem is a special case where there are tourists (Israelis) even when there are no tourists.

But even before that, the municipality and the Tourism Ministry should invest in infrastructure at the site; for example: There is almost no cellular reception there, and there is no Wi-Fi for tourists in a world where stories and photos are uploaded to social networks. There are also no facilities for tying bicycles in the area and, of course, trash cans overflowing with garbage. Beyond that, many shops in the Turkish Bazaar market are closed, and the city is in a bad state in terms of tourists. Tourism business owners there say that some of the visitors are still afraid of the security situation, others just do not come to Acre due to other concerns, and during a tour there today, it was quite sad to see it rather deserted. It is time for Acre to advance to the current era in everything related to tourism, and this does not only concern cellular reception, but also the ban on using animals for money: For example, poor ponies tied to poles in Seahorse Square that are "waiting" to be ridden. We are not in Egypt or Jordan.

The spectacle is built as a universal visual language – without words, with original music – and it is intended for audiences from all over the world and of all ages. In addition, it is fully accessible to people with disabilities, including special audio devices for the hearing impaired and audio description for the blind.

The visual content was created by the French company COSMOAV, one of the world leaders in the field of video mapping, which was also a partner in international productions such as the reopening show of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Ayelet Lieber, CEO of the Tower of David Museum in Jerusalem, is in charge of managing and curating the project.

The visual journey reviews the history of Acre throughout the periods: From the ancient world, through the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods, until the Muslim and Crusader periods – when the city was the capital of the Kingdom of Knights. Later, the show moves to the Ottoman period, the days of the British Mandate, and up to the State of Israel. The Mediterranean Sea serves throughout the entire show as a connecting axis between the periods.

According to the Tourism Ministry, the goal of the project is to revive the nightlife in the Old City, increase visitor traffic in the evening hours, strengthen local businesses, and encourage entrepreneurship and new investments. The show integrates into the artistic lighting system already operating in the city and the port.

"The new spectacle tells the story of Acre in a visual, powerful, and moving way, connecting history with advanced technology," says Yuval Porat, CEO of the Old Acre Development Company. "The goal is to bring nightlife and tourism back to Old Acre and to encourage entrepreneurship and culture in the city."