Israel to Build new Hotel Rooms to Meet Demand

Israeli hotels will add some 3,500 new rooms in the next few months to meet the demands of record level tourism to the Holy Land.

The nation’s existing 44,000 rooms are insufficient to meet the current demand, according to Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer, who spoke at the OECD tourism conference held in Jerusalem.

Israel’s Tourism Ministry is allocating grants to dozens of hotel projects in order to build more rooms to match the expected 30 percent increase in tourists this year -- half a million more than in 2009. If the ministry’s goal of 5 million tourists in 2015 is met, an additional 18,000 hotel rooms, especially in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and the Sea of Galilee area, would be needed.
 
“Steps must immediately be taken in order to prevent irreversible damage to incoming tourism – firstly transferring the authority for marketing land for tourism to the Tourism Ministry, differentiation in grants to entrepreneurs, renewing the track for attractions and updating the map of the national priority areas for tourism,” said Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov.

Misezhnikov has warned that the shortage in hotel rooms will negatively impact tourism and Israel’s image as a modern, attractive and quality tourist destination.

Fischer also called for regional cooperation with Egypt and Jordan in tourism, to strengthen the industry by integrating sites in all three countries so that tourists would visit three countries in one trip, spending a few days in each.

While an insufficient number of hotels in Israel may negatively impact Israel’s ability to effectively handle the existing demand, it is a sign that the industry is booming and highlights Israel’s evolving status as an attractive tourism location and certainly may heighten investor interest in Israel and the region.

“More and more tourists are discovering the gems in Israel and that is obvious by the demand for hotel rooms in the country,” said Elisa Moed, CEO of Travelujah. “The fact that tourism has set record levels this year shows that Israel is considered a safe and worthy destination by millions around the world.”

By Nicole Jansezian, Travelujah

Nicole Jansezian writes for Travelujah.com, the only Christian social network focused on travel to the Holy Land. Travelujah is a vibrant online community offering high quality Christian content, user and expert blogs, travel tours and planning services for people interested in connecting with or traveling to the Holy Land.