All the news about Israeli tourism
2009-08-12 - Vol 25
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1.2 million passengers use Ben Gurion Airport during July
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According to data from the Israel Airports Authority, a total of 1.2 million passengers passed through Ben Gurion Airport during July 2009, a fall of 2.7 percent on last July. There was an improvement in passenger traffic to Turkey during July, with a fall of 36 percent; this compared to a 50 percent fall in the first six months of the year. Lufthansa recorded the largest increase in passenger traffic.
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Israeli hoteliers want a strong dollar
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Rafi Ferber, Vice President of the Hotels Association, expressed the support of the hoteliers for the efforts of Stanley Fisher, governor of the Bank of Israel, to support the dollar. Ferber: “We could see ourselves before long returning to the level of 3.2 shekels to the dollar, this decline is dangerous for the tourism industry.”
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Finnish tour operator Aurinkomatkat to renew flights to Israel
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The Ministry of Tourism announced that after a break of 9 years, the Finnish tour operator Aurinkomatkat is to renew flights from Finland to Israel. Also, following the purchase of the Estonian travel company Horizon Travel, they will also start operating direct flights from Estonia to Israel.
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El Al to increase capacity by 12% during high holydays
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El Al is preparing to fly thousands of tourists to and from Israel with the approach of the Jewish New Year and the high holydays. Cohen: “As is the tradition we will be increasing flights to destinations in Europe, especially to London, Paris and Italy.”
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British Airways to London from $417
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British Airways is offering lower prices, with a sale on economy class flights to London, New York and Los Angeles. British Airways: “The discounts are almost 50 percent down on prices of last summer.”
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El Al expects ICAA to approve flights to Eilat
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Following a hearing at the offices of Giora Rom, head of the Israel Civil Aviation Authority (ICAA), an El Al spokesperson announced: “This step will result in an increasing number of tourists connecting from international flights to Eilat, contributing to an better service and timetable than currently exists.
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Price war on flights to London
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bmi have announced a special deal on flights from Tel Aviv to London Heathrow at a price of $379 including taxes. This is in response to the price of $417 offered by British Airways at the beginning of the week.
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Brussels Airlines ceases code share with El Al
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Roby Herskowicz, country manager of Brussels Airlines in Israel is not concerned at the cessation of the code share agreement with El Al. “Nothing is standing in our way if we decide to increase the frequency of flights to Israel; in all modesty, Brussels Airlines put Belgium on the tourist map of Israel.”
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