With the closure of the very successful Israel Tourist Office in Australia in 2006, all is still not well in Israeli Tourism.
The President of the Israel Hotel Association (IHA), Eli Gonen, demanded at a press conference Monday that $US50 million be allocated to the Ministry of Tourism immediately, and warned that if the money is not transferred soon, the tourism industry will face a grim future in 2007.
While the first half of 2006 seemed to be relatively good for the troubled Israel tourism industry, the war in Lebanon this summer disrupted all plans, with only 1.8 million tourists entering Israel this year, compared to a forecast of 2.4 million people.
According to IHA estimates, Israel sustained a $US1 billion dollar loss in 2006, with revenues standing at $US3.4 billion, in contrast to a $US4.4 billion forecast.
Gonen has called on the Government to implement the recommendations of an Ernst and Young report on the tourism industry in Israel, which stated that $US50 million per year should be invested in the next five years in a long-term campaign aimed at changing Israel’s image in the world, with the hoteliers also demanding that an independent tourism authority be formed to handle marketing of tourism in Israel abroad.
The Tourism Ministry responded that Tourism Minister Isaac Herzog and his office’s management agreed with the IHA on the issue of funding, adding that, “The ministry has demanded of the government and the Finance Ministry a multi-annual budget of USD 250 million for the next five years.”
Perhaps this might see the reopening of the Israel Tourism office in Australia, a relatively small but very lucrative market for travel to Israel.
Report by The Mole
