All the news about Israeli tourism
2009-05-20 - Vol 14
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Tourist traffic down in April
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In April 2009 a total of 252,000 tourists visited Israel, a 13 percent fall compared to last April; but a 23 percent increase on April 2007. The first quarter of 2009 saw a fall of 25 percent in incoming tourism.
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BA cancels weekly flight to Tel Aviv
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British Airways announced the cancellation of their new weekly flight on the Tel Aviv to London route from 1st July. The service was due to start operating from the beginning of June. British Airways had only recently announced details of this additional Friday flight.
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Grand Beach Hotel in Tel Aviv converted into a business hotel
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The management of the Grand Beach Hotel in Tel Aviv, part of the Grand Hotels chain, reported an investment of 9 million shekels in renovation costs in order to convert the hotel into a business hotel. The 212 bedroom Grand Beach Hotel is located close to the Tel Aviv beaches.
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Minister of Tourism will be happy with 2.7 million tourists in 2009
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At the opening of the 37th Israel Hotel Managers Association held in Tel Aviv, Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov warned that the main aim for tourism this year was to preserve the achievements of last year. He commented that the 2009 budget is designed to help strengthen tourism activities for 2010.
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Tourism tax: Minister of Tourism in emergency session
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The Minister of Tourism met in emergency session with the tourism industry leaders in Israel in order to examine the significance of the Treasury’s decision to propose a change in the law to cancel the VAT exemption for foreign tourists.
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Mayor of Haifa sees room capacity doubling by 2013
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The Mayor of Haifa, Yona Yahav said that he anticipates that by 2013 the number of hotel rooms in the city will have increased from 1,600 to about 3,000. Yahav made these comments at a press conference inaugurating the new Colony Hotel, located in the German Colony district of the city.
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El Al to increase the price on flights by between $5 and $25
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As a result of an increase in the price of crude oil, El Al have announced that they have been forced to add a fuel surcharge of between $5 and $25 for each leg of the flight. Amit Livni, Head of Marketing said that the price of oil now stands 80 percent higher than the $33 a barrel recorded in January 2009.
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Ministry of Tourism campaign to target the Christian community
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The Ministry of Tourism are to start an extensive marketing campaign aimed at attracting Christian tourists to Israel as a follow up to the Pope’s recent visit. In the coming months an advertising campaign will be aimed at the 1.3 billion followers of the Catholic Church worldwide, with the aim of increasing demand for visiting Israel.
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Ministry of Transport blamed for safety downgrade by FAA
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During a meeting of the Knesset’s Economic Affairs Committee, the issue of the downgrading of the safety level of Israeli airports by the FAA was discussed. Giora Rom head of Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority stated that restoring Israel to a category 1 rating was totally dependent on the American FAA and not on any Israeli authority.
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