Hotels almost fully booked for Rosh Hashana
Occupancy rate of 90% expected at most hotels in Israel during High Holidays, with most sought after destinations being Eilat, Dead Sea and Northern towns
Hotel Association Director-General Shmuel Zurel said that the occupancy rate this year is no different than in previous years, and that the high demands are mainly on the part of families looking to travel to Eilat, the Dead Sea or northern Israel.
The city of Tel Aviv will be filled with tourists, and Jerusalem will also be overflowed with visitors from abroad, most of the religious Jews.
"We expect good traffic in the hotels on Rosh Hashana, but we are already identifying a slowdown in demands from abroad ahead of 2009," said Zurel.
"It's clear to us that the large growth is already behind us, and now we expect one-digit growths. However, we have a lot of hopes for the Russian market. From the moment the entry visas were cancelled, there have been high demands in this market. Agents involved in the field are offering sales and packages. The main problem now is the lack of seats on flights from Russia to Israel."
Shortage of almost 5,000 workers
Meanwhile, the Hotel Association has reported that hotels in Israel are in need of 550 junior managers, 900 cooks, 250 confectioners, 1,000 chambermaids, 500 reception and information workers, 900 waiters, 150 security guards and 100 maintenance people.
The figures were released ahead of the tourism industry's employment fair. According to the Association and the Tourism Ministry, the hotel industry is suffering from a shortage of almost 5,000 workers.
The Hotel Association revealed that the average monthly salary in Israel's hotels stands at NIS 5,840 (about $1,619). The highest wage is in Herzliya (NIS 7,900 - $2,186), followed by Tel Aviv with NIS 7,000 ($1,937). The average salary in Tiberias is only NIS 5,000 ($1,383).
The hotels' employment fairs was to be held on September 15 in Ramat Gan's Kfar Maccabiah Hotel, on September 16 in Jerusalem's Renaissance Hotel, and on September 17 in the Meridian Hotel in Haifa.
