Manara cable car (Archive photo)
Photo: Galit Kosovsky
Back to sailing
Photo: Hagai Aharon
Tourists plan 'northern assault'
As ceasefire takes hold, Israelis planning to hit northern tourist sites en masse
While residents of the upper Galilee region are making their way back home, tourists are also planning to "storm" the north, even if only to enjoy the last rays of summer sunshine.
Yet just as was the case in some communities, vacation resorts have also sustained serious damages that are dampening the spirits ahead of the tourist season's renewal
The Manara cable car at the southern outskirts of Kiryat Shmona, for example, sustained severe damages estimated at USD 3 million. Officials estimate the site will be renovated in nine to 12 months.
The site's marketing manager, Sigal Berg, told Ynet: "The phones keep on ringing. People are calling to find out if we're active and travel agents, who viewed the site as a leading location in the upper Galilee, are stunned to hear about the damages."
Meanwhile, the severe damages at Manara have put the jobs of about 70 workers at risk.
However, many other tourist sites across the Galilee are slowly getting back into the action, with tourism workers reporting a wave of bookings, as Israelis seek accommodations for the coming days and weeks.
Other sites have already reopened and are reporting that visitors are not shying away and are arriving en masse.
Meanwhile, some museums that were closed for the war are planning to reopen soon and have already started to bring back valuable works of art, which just like the residents spent the war in bomb shelters.
