Dead Sea hotel
Hotel Association president: Tourism predictions inflated
Tourism official says government must earmark more funds to tourism sector, designate it as national priority
Current forecasts predicting that 5 million tourists will be visiting Israel in 2014 are baseless, Israel Hotel Association President Eli Gonen says. According to Gonen, the Tourism Ministry won't be able to meet such targets as long as the tourism sector is not designated as a national priority industry.
Gonen said that such move would require increased marketing budgets and a more serious approach to the Tourism Ministry, which has seen its minister and director general change every year.
According to Gonen, if the current trend continues Israel is expected to see seven more tourism ministers by 2014. He warned that Israel's ability to compete with other international destinations will decrease unless the government designates sufficient funds to the industry.
On a more positive note, Gonen said that 2008 opened with growing demand in the incoming tourism sector.
Meanwhile, Tourism Ministry Director General Shaul Tzemach said Wednesday that the weakening dollar will lead to the loss of 7,000 jobs in the tourism sector. Tzemach, who spoke at the IMTM tourism fair, said that the Bank of Israel governor has no choice but to lower interest rates in order to counter the weak dollar.
Tzemach also said that the major market for tourism to Israel is North America. He added that this market is showing worrisome signs of entering a recessions, and noted that the weakening dollar has no doubt undermined the demand for vacations in Israel.
