i think that some of this money should be used to retrain some of the population in how to deal politly with tourists....the infrastucture can be fantastic but if the service is crap the whole project goes down the toilet...

you are 100% correct.

Eilat is a cesspool that Americans and Europeans will avoid like the plague. This beaches, coral and city are disgusting. This money is a complete waste of our tax shekels and would be better spent on education. If we really want to improve Eilat and make it an international tourist destinations we should raze the hotels, malls and ridiculous city center and start from scratch.

I have been to Eilat plenty of times but I don't think I have ever actually spent a whole week there because if you don't want to go to the beach there is not all that much to do and and at night there is even less if you want variety. The got some gimmicks like the IMAX and the ice bar but its not enough. The other big problem Eilat has is lack of affordable hotels, the bulk of the hotels are quite expensive and their prices are certainly not aimed at your average Israeli family wanting to go for a short break to Eilat. There is just not enough affordable hotels for the people who are not on big budgets. If the government wants to bring in money to Eilat the best way to do it would be to allow an out of town casino. The Israelis who want to gamble will keep the money in the country and go to Eilat rather than go to Egypt to lose it so as that money is going out the country its not good for the Israeli economy and least if they lose it all in Eilat it gets recycled within the Israeli economy. A casino in Eilat also means and the foreign tourists who know there is a casino in town and decide they want to go gamble will lose their money in Israel and the casinos have to pay the government income tax so that means the government has more foreign money coming in which benefits the country as a whole. The casino itself will probably invest in the town because the more people coming to Eilat and the longer they stay then it potentially means more money being spent in the casino. Let the idiots be the ones to finance the development of Eilat.

are so wright,just a casino would be great maybe two.The Israeli service is bad they have no manners and they think they are doing you a favor when they bring you a coke...

Beewn there a few times to visit relatives who live there. NOt much to do other than sea, and the hotels, to echo those who write above, are expensive, and not that great. As a sign of Eilat's future: all three of my nieces and nephews there have migrated to the Gush Dan area.. Better to invest tourism development dollars in the center, jerusalem, and the North, who will capitalize on it a bit more than Eilat. Or use it to keep up road improvements, or somehow reduce the crazy cost of car rental...