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The number of Israelis expected to take skiing holidays this year is expected to be down significantly on last year.  The reason for the downturn as a result of the global economic recession and swine flu.  The annual ski fair has also been postponed until an unspecified later date.

How many Israelis are expected to take skiing holidays this winter? The real figures are far removed from the imaginary numbers that usually emerge at this time of the year.  This year the wholesalers are warning of a difficult situation and have significantly reduced the supply of skiing packages on offer and have even decided not to participate in the annual ski fair.

 “This situation this year is unlike previous years,” said one of the large wholesalers specializing in marketing ski packages to European ski destinations. “The evidence is that until now no group has begun selling ski holidays, with the exception of a few to Club Med.”  The main factors in the sharp fall in the number of travelers this year are the global economic recession which arrived last year but which was of far less significance as it came at the end of the economic boom. The other main factor, less well known, is the effect of swine flu.

 “Ski resorts at high altitudes in the mountains of Europe have much lower oxygen levels and a higher percentage of infectious illnesses,” this in the opinion of industry sources. “If added to this the fact that there is a greater chance of catching a cold, it is easy to understand why people are in no hurry to go skiing this year.”

Nevertheless, enthusiasts and those skilled in skiing will not easily give up their annual holiday, even though there numbers are relatively small.

Additional proof of the difficult situation for the industry was the postponement of the annual ski fair, held every year at the Tel Aviv Exhibition Grounds, which attracts representatives from overseas as well as local wholesalers.  Lev Media who produce the annual ski fair were due to hold the event at the Herzliya Marina, but announced that it had been postponed to an unknown date as a result of the small amount of advertising.