Tourism declining
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Incoming tourism to shrink in 2009
Tourism officials predict bleak year as far as incoming tourists to Israel go. Hotel Association Head Eli Ganon predicts 33% drop, but panel of foreign airlines head Avi Friedman says things could pick up in last quarter of 2009
Incoming tourism to Israel is expected to crash by 33% in 2009, said head of the Israel Hotel Association Eli Gonen on Monday.
Ahead of the International Mediterranean Tourism Market fair in Tel Aviv this week, Gonen wrote in a position paper, "The global economic crisis, combined with the image crisis following the Gaza operation, will cause tourists to avoid or postpone trips to Israel in 2009."
2008 Summary
Hotel Association president threatens incoming tourism to drop dramatically if government fails to add budgets for marketing Israel worldwide
Hotels do not have the funds to invest in renovations and many employees are expected to lose their jobs this year. Other sources in the tourism branch predict a 50% drop in hotel occupancy this year, saying the Tourism Ministry is not aware of the depth of the crisis.
Avi Friedman, head of Israel's panel of foreign airlines also predicted a grim year for tourism, but said in his position paper it was expected to pick up in the last quarter of 2009, if the new government comes up with significant resources to boost the branch.
According to summary reports on Ben Gurion International Airport's activity for January 2009, there has been a decline in international and national passenger traffic.
Last month some 584,000 passengers traveled in 6,229 national and international flights. International passenger traffic stood at 558,000 passengers last month, marking a 15% drop compared to January 2008.
Last month's international flight traffic amounted to 5,486 flights – a 2% drop compared to last year. Some 26,000 internal passengers passed through Ben Gurion Airport in January, compared to 31,000 in 2008 – a 16.45% decrease.
A sharp decline of 18.25% was noted in the number of passengers using Israeli aviation companies last month compared to the same period in 2008.
Israelis' main travel destination, New York City also experienced an 11% drop in the number of Israelis visiting it compared to January last year. However, there has been an increase in passenger traffic to Russia.
