National park or urban green space: The case of [tel] Ashkelon

Ashkelon National Park is located on the Mediterranean Sea in the city of Ashkelon. The site contains archaeological remains of different civilisations. Although it was the first national park in Israel, it was managed by the municipality of Ashkelon until 2011, when the National Park Authority (NPA) assumed control of the popular site, ranked fifth among all Israeli National Parks in terms of visitation. The chapter presents the managerial steps that were taken by the NPA to re-shape the visitor’s expectations. An on-site survey (n=347) was distributed among visitors during summer 2015. The findings of the survey shed light on misperceptions and mixed expectations. An analysis of visitation patterns supports the on-site study findings. Adding the word in Hebrew ‘Tel’ (meaning ‘ancient site’) to the name of the park and changing its managerial priorities were employed as intervention practices after the study. The chapter concludes with recent interviews with key individuals that assessed the interventions and estimated their usefulness in strengthening the image of a national park rather than a municipal green space. The concluding remarks address Tel Ashkelon National Park as a symbol for the challenges and dilemmas of cultural heritage conservation in the MENA region.