Tourists in Jerusalem. Only 52% spend the night in the capital
Photo: Amit Shabi
Tourists unsatisfied with value for money in Israel
Foreign visitors rate tour guides and archeological sites as most satisfying components of their Holy Land trip, Tourism Ministry survey shows.
Tourists visiting Israel are unsatisfied with the value they receive for the money they spend in the country, giving it a score of 3.1 out of 5, according to the Tourism Ministry's annual survey.
The survey shows that 62% of the tourists who arrived in Israel stayed in hotels, 25% stayed with relatives and friends, 6% in youth hostels or Christian hostels and the rest in rented apartments or another type of accommodation.
The survey was conducted through questionnaires filled by tourists at Israel's border terminals before leaving the country. Its findings were obtained by Yedioth Ahronoth.
Dubious Honor
World Hotel Index compiled by Bloomberg shows Israeli cities are more expensive for tourists than Tokyo and Scandinavian capitals.
Seventy-nine percent of the tourists visited Jerusalem, but only 52% spent the night in the capital. Sixty-six percent visited Tel Aviv, and 45% of all tourists stayed in the city. The third most popular place was the Dead Sea, which was visited by 54% of tourists, but only 12% spent the night there.
Most nights were spent by tourists in the city of Netanya – five nights, compared to three nights in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem or Herzilya.
Tourists visiting Israel as part of an organized tour spend about $1,670 on their trip (without the flight). Those who purchase vacation packages spend $1,787. Tourists who arrive independently spend $1,436 on their holiday in Israel.
The tourist rated tour guides and archeological sites as the most satisfying components of their trip (4.4 points on a scale of 1 to 5), followed by guided tours (4.3 points), personal safety (4.2 points), nature, environment and airport facilities (4.1 points) and health services (4 points).
The lowest scores were given to cleanliness of public areas and public toilets and to handicap accessibility in tourist sites (3.4 points), as well as to taxi drivers and the nature of information in their language (3.3 points).
