During the period of the Oslo accords against the feeling of peace, Eilat was packed 10 months of the year. We even had Europeans coming in the summer. The enitifada killed that and it hasn't returned. People want peace.

you forgot to mention the harasment tourist have to suffer in airports before flying or leaving israel no one in their right mind would want to spend money in or on a country like that

Hotels in Israel are way too expensive. You need better options for the budget traveler.

It is true that it is very hard to enter Israel and to leave it. They give tourists a very hard time. And the people on the airport are very very unfriendly. If you arrive at customs and one of the nice ladies there barks a few questions at you, you get a very bad first impression. And Israel is not cheap.

Tourist will return to Middle East moment occupation of Palestine ends and Israel is disarmed from illegal WMD treatening whole M.East. Moment Judaism replaces Zionism... better for all. There is not other solution, colonial ideologies dont belong to this world..

We travel often to Israel and were there in July. The prices for pretty basic or below basic hotels were around $200 per night and nicer hotels were much higher. Its a struggle to find a hotel in Tel Aviv that is affordable. Paying $200 for the Marina Hotel is not justifiable. The hotel association greeted the economic crisis by doubling prices to offset an expected decrease in tourists. Doesn't supply and demand work in Israel?

harrasment? When I was in Israel I was delighted about tight security measures. Israel is a great country

Murdered the Ushrenko family should no longer be used to promote tourism to Israel .Seriously,for the price of a week in an Israeli hotel one could live for a year in Jordan.

Using Bar Rafaeli is clearly not working as a strategy to promote tourism to Israel.Far better to use a photo of Jack (Yaacov) Teitel,he is a very good looking man.And to #6 : Supply and Demand does not apply in Israel.They read from right to left here and their brains work from right to left hence the stupid screwed up mentality prevalent here.

Who would want to go to Israel and spend $200 at a crappy hotel when one can get a similar priced actual three or four star hotel in a nice European city. The economy stinks this year, and the brilliant Israeli hotel association decides to raise hotel costs...huh???? Unfortunately, like everythign Israel does, she will realize the error of her ways too late.

Are you obsessed with Jack(Yaacov)Teitel or what?:-)

Tourists have complained constanly about the rudeness of Israelis and the bad services received in addition to high cost of accommodation. It really beats me why the Israeli Tourism Board is not doing anything to address these complaints.

maybe we need to solve the conflict and more tourists will come.

See this ...Swiss are marketting heavily in India for Tourism and the result ....last year 180,000 (0.18 million) Indian tourist came to Switzerland and they spend 350,000 room night ...and the Swiss govt expect this market has a growth of 10-15% per year. http://www.mid-day.com/news/2009/jan/190109-Switzerland-looking-at-more-Indian-tourists1.htm I know nowdays lots of people from India travel to "Egypt" ... I beleive one of the main advt theme for Israel in India should be "Dead Sea" and "Jerusalem"....not "Bar Rafeli"

I love Israel and have visited more times than I can count, but they really need an attitude adjustment. Last time I visited the country a difficult vendor refused to give me a boureka because I asked for "echad boureka" instead of "echad bourekas". I was unaware that "bourekas" is the singular and not the plural. I am very proficient in Hebrew and this was the first time I had ever had such a problem. I even pointed at the item for a full five minutes, but he claimed he had no idea what I wanted. My Israeli fiancé understood me perfectly and explained that he did too and was "just being an asshole". Another time a store owner sliced my leg open when he opened a cabinet door and flung it into my leg. As I bled out all over his floor all he could say was "ani mitztaer" and walk away. My fiancé was humiliated on behalf of her country and explained she didn't remember it that way. Israelis need to remember that tourism is not a given in Israel. If they want to keep the tourism levels high, they need to re-evaluate how they treat their guests. Nevertheless I will continue to visit the country, and simply hope the next time I visit will be better than the last.

4 star hotel in europe for $200?? 4 stars in europe is 2 stars in US. And if you want to stay in good hotel in europe, it will cost you about $800-1000+ per day.Regarding Israel,Dan or American Colony not bad at all:-))

Marko, security comes first.Even flying with private jet.:-)))

First of all people in the hospitality field should be trained with some common sense skills as well as basic manners. Central bus and train stations should provide basic information and have large maps of the cities. Dan is "ok" but Egged seems to care less if anyone could be able to figure out how to get where they're going. The train system is confusing for Israelis, just think how a non-Hebrew speaker feels. The only thing convenient for tourists here is changing money, what does that say about us??? Most Taxi drivers in Israel (but not only in Israel) are thieves, they should be closely monitored and tested for honesty and fired on the spot for cheating customers. Ripping customers off only makes them not trust Israelis and not want to come back. Have a national campaign to teach Israelis that they shouldn't litter anywhere, especially in national parks & beaches. Make the garbage burners in Me'ah Sharim pick it up. Teach the Israeli public not to give directions if they don't actually know the destination. I don't know if they do this deliberately or they are just clueless. Its better to say "sorry I don't know", if you don't. This is a major religious pilgrimage site for at least 4 religions as well as an archaeological wonderland. Marketing the Tel-Aviv club seen and shopping is plain stupid. Really, did they actually think of what an insignificant number of people around the world would be drawn in by that???no obviously not. Teach Israelis to be extra nice to tourists because tourists dictate the health of our economy. Make casinos legal in Eilat or something. BTW, when I say "teach Israelis", I mean in schools, on the radio and T.V. with public service announcements because people here can really be clueless sometimes.

the rude treatment at borders and ben gurion is so randomly. last time it tooked me some friendly questions and not more than five minutes to enter, but like one hour, harsh questioning & a tight body check to leave israel.

Jack Teitel ? I think the answer to that is possibly yes but not as obsessed as shin bet / Israel police who accuse the man of every crime under the sun for the last 25 years.

Tourists.However,the global economic crisis has resulted in falling or declining numbers of travellors generally and Israel is not immune from that.In addition,there are so many appealing destinations,spain,Italy,france,scandinavia,greece ,Malta,Egypt,Morocco,entire south american continent,cental america,australia,far east etc.etc the list is endless.So some stiff competition,Also many places are less expensive to visit,an unfortunate fact.Nevertheless,the Holy Land is unique.

Well put my friend.If only Israelis,bless 'em were less stubborn and did not think they know it all and would learn from your advice.Although Tel-aviv nightclubs and shopping are fine ,tourists can do that in any country.Focus on the unique.Jordanian Tourist board advertises Petra not some booze-filled ecstasy riddled club.

I would really love to visit that important part of our country . May be in the future. Shalom ha madina

dear sir, if everything you writte is as flase as your figures for tourism in spain then is not only not worth but highly misleading. should check better fore publishing and even more in these economic downtorn

I was in Israel in October. There was absolutely no problem at the airport. They were very friendly. We stayed in a delightful boutique hotel in Tel Aviv and the staff couldn't be friendlier and it was extremely good value. Easyjet is now flying to Israel from the UK and is very cheap. Israelis have generally gone from rudeness to charm (yes!) in all the restaurants and cafes that we went to and there's loads to do in Israel. You need an English language tv station on a par with Al Jazeera in order to promote Israel so that people who don't know, will see it is a normal country. That is the most important tourist tool. And Israel IS tourist friendly.

Many people would like to visit Eilat again but there are now no direct regular flights from UK - Ovda. flightThere used to be daily charters and regular scheduled with El Al..now nothing. Yes you can transfer at BG but its a hassle and time consuming. If you get to Eilat many hotels are overpriced and substandard which is a great shame.

promotion, even for the Arabs in the Westbank, once they figure out, Tourist bring a lot of money to Jericho and Bethlehem and so on... Thats all, well, way to go, isnt it?

As someone else already mentioned: The prices are too high in Israel. Look at the hotels ! They are unaffordable for tourists and why should anyone check into a hotel when he can get somewhere else the same holiday for half price ? Hostels calling themselves cheap are also expensive. Let alone food, dining out, cinemas, etc. Most tourists live on a tight budget and go there where it is cheaper.

I have come and gone from Israel numerous times over the past decade and I have never been harrassed. I had friends come to visit me from Australia who aren't jewish and they thought nothing of being asked so many questions by security staff. If you want to feel safe, as we all do, then just 'deal with hit' ....

...but it is more about relaxing, having a good time, enjoying good services, and simply having a holiday. I have been to Israel several times both for holiday and work. But, I must admit that Israel is still far beyond being a perfect holiday destination. First, there are political issues and violence. People all over the world look for secure, peaceful and relaxed places for holiday. And, that still doesn't exist in Israel. Plus, all those regular fights with Palestinians make it even worse in foreigners' minds. Also, Israelis' attitudes are generally quite annoying, loud, direct, rude, argumentative, always looking for a hassle, taxi drivers' ripping off, constant quarrels of Israelis and demonstrations...all these really do not provide a relaxed holiday atmosphere. This starts from the moments tourists meet unfriendly airport workers and goes all through your visit. In fact, each time on my return flight from Israel, I feel relieved. Israelis really need to work on their attitudes. Please take this as a friendly advice instead of looking for yet another quarrel.