All the news about Israeli tourism
2009-03-24 - Vol 8
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Open skies to Germany
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As part of the open skies agreement, Minister of Transport Shaul Mofaz has now authorized Arkia, Israir and Sun d’Or to start scheduled flights to a number of destinations in Germany.
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The Pope to fly El Al
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The Vatican has chosen El Al as the airline to fly Pope Benedict XVI and his delegation back to Rome at the end of his historic visit to the Holy Land which takes place in May. The Pope will fly on a Boeing 777, especially decorated with the papal emblem.
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Israeli hotels prepare for the Passover holiday
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The economic department of the Israel Hotel Association report that for its members to make their hotels fully kosher for the upcoming Passover holiday there is an additional cost of between 30 and 40 percent compared to other times of the year. To make a large hotel, compliant with Glatt (highest level) kosher regulations adds up to 60 percent to its costs.
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El Al launches summer timetable
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At the end of March, El Al will start their marketing campaign for the spring and summer seasons. From the 21st June El Al will start operating 246 flights to 40 destinations. Haim Romano CEO of El Al says that the summer timetable places special emphasis on the needs of the business traveler.
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El Al expects 60,000 passengers a year on Sao Paolo route
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Brazilian Ambassador Pedro Motta Pinto Coelho expressed his delight with El Al’s initiative to commence three direct flights a week to Brazil, starting on May 2nd. Coelho: “It is an important vote of confidence by the main Israeli airline in the overall relationship with Brazil and South America”. Flight time from Tel Aviv will be 14 hours 45 minutes on El Al’s latest Boeing 777 aircraft.
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Tourist arrivals down 24% in February
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Data released by the Economic department of the Israel Hotel Association for February 2009 shows a 24 percent fall in the number of tourist hotel nights compared to last February. Hotel nights for Israelis fell by 7 percent compared to February 2008. The hoteliers report that they expect incoming tourism at Passover to be down by at least 10 percent on last year.
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Tourism to be taught in High Schools
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With tourism expected to grow in the coming years and the need to train a new generation of tourism professionals, the Ministry of Tourism is working in cooperation with the Ministry of Education to introduce a tourism program into high schools in Israel.
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Lufthansa, Swiss and the Israeli travel agents still fighting about base commission
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After attempts to bridge the differences between the sides failed; representatives of Lufthansa, Swiss and the Travel Agents Association convened in front of Judge Esther Stemmer. This was as a result of the continuation of proceedings submitted by the Travel Agents Association because of the cancellation of base commission which started at the beginning of the year. The Travel Agents Association demand return to cancellation of the compromise agreement.
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