(By EMTT Special Jerusalem Correspondent & Former Director IGTO, London Amnon Lipzin) The U.K. was Israel’s fourth largest source for tourists in 2009, with about 181,000 tourism entries - a drop of six percent when compared...

According to figures released by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics and the Israel Ministry of Tourism, 280,000 tourists visited Israel in July 2010, an increase of 11 percent over the figure for July 2009 and seven percent more than in July 2008. About 1.9 million visitors from abroad...

According to the results of a survey of 25,500 foreign tourists visiting Israel in 2009, undertaken for the Ministry of Tourism, the country’s archeological sites were rated 4.6 (out of 5; up from 4.2 in 2008), guides and organized tours were rated 4.5 (4.3 in 2008), the reception tourists received from...

About NIS 4 million have been invested to date in improvements at the Holiday Inn Ashkelon, “and more will be spent during the rest of the year to make the hotel even better,” says Jacob Sudri, general manager of AFI Israel, of which the Holiday Inn Ashkelon is...

“It has been a good year for us,” states Paolo Fetz, general manager of the American Colony, Jerusalem. “Our forecast for 2010 was about 81 percent; so far, we’ve been running an average 85-86-percent occupancy rate, and it seems that this will continue through the rest of the year. Our mix...

Having taken over management of its in-house spa about one year ago (see EMTT #308), the David Citadel, Jerusalem has upgraded the workout equipment available for hotel guests - who are required no longer to pay a fee to enjoy its services and facilities - and has installed TechnoGym...

The Fattal Hotel Chain has invested about NIS 8 million (more than $2 million) in opening “Funtasia,” its new amusement park in Eilat, situated adjacent to - and a part of - King City, the themed attraction it started to manage a few months ago (see EMTT #318). It, like Kings City, will be...

During a visit to Israel in August, JetBlue CEO & President David Barger signed an agreement with El Al CEO & President Elyezer Shkedy to enable passengers to purchase a single ticket in one transaction, for...

The Israeli government has approved a proposal introduced by Minister of Transport & Road Safety Yisrael Katz, to allocate NIS 56 million to work on detailed planning for a new international airport for Israel, to be located at Timna, about 18 kilometers north of Eilat. The cost of constructing the...

All the official tourism activities of the Municipality of Jerusalem were incorporated early this year into the Jerusalem Development Authority (JDA). “Tourism is a part Mayor Nir Barkat’s overall vision for the city, and an important priority, along with culture, which complements it,” explains...

Herods Gate (known also as Flowers Gate), which first opened in 1539 and is one of the seven active gates leading into the Old City of Jerusalem, reopened recently after months of rehabilitation and conservation work. The gate and sections of the Old City walls adjacent to it were treated during...

The Assuta Medical Center recently celebrated its first anniversary at its new premises in Tel Aviv in the city’s Ramat Hahayal district. “As a result of this move we’re in a better position than ever to offer the best medical tourism services available in Israel,” asserts Nurit Agiv...

Following the admission of Israel earlier in the year, as a full-fledged member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD), the organization plans to hold an official conference in Israel for the first time this coming October, to be attended by heads of organization’s Tourism Committee. Ministry of Tourism Director-General Noaz Bar-Nir addressed a meeting of the OECD’s Tourism Committee in June, presenting the plans Israel had developed to host the organization’s 86th conference, which is to take place in Jerusalem. The purpose of the conference, to be held 20-22 October 2010, is to discuss “green” tourism as a catalyst for...

According to figures released by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics and the Israel Ministry of Tourism, 259,000 tourists visited Israel in June 2010, the best June ever on record, an increase of 24 percent over the figure for June 2009 and eight percent more than in June 2008. About 214,000 of the...

The Israel Ministry of Tourism has established a fund for the renovation of hotels, as well as a list of criteria to determine how money will be made available to properties interested in taking advantage of it. “Finally, there seems to be a budget for hoteliers, to help share the costs of refurbishing...

The Tel Aviv Hotel Association, in cooperation with the Association for Tourism Tel Aviv-Jaffa, has been hosting agent seminars in targeted European countries on an annual basis for more than 15 years. The U.K. and France were its original target markets; Germany was added a few years ago; now Russia...

As mentioned in EMTT #319, the Grand Court Jerusalem marked its fifth anniversary this past June with a reception at the hotel. “Since our guests come from many different markets,” explains Dudi Ashkenazi, general manger of the Grand Court (and of the Grand Beach, Tel Aviv too), “we decided...

At a cost of about $7000,000, the Renaissance Tel Aviv has completed renovations on its pool/health club area and has taken over management of the facilities there after they had been outsourced to a private company for many years, reports hotel General Manager Meir Keinan. The facility, which reopened...

Having established itself as a hotel for the business market since opening about two years ago, the Crowne Plaza City Center has been looking into other niche markets as a way of broadening its tourism base, reports hotel General Manager Ron Yariv. “This is quite important for us, particularly...

Renovations have been completed on 40 rooms in the main hotel building of the Ramot Resort Village, located in the southern Golan Heights, overlooking the Sea of Galilee. “Until recently,” explains Ramot Manager Aviram...

The Sharon Hotel, Herzliya has just competed renovations to all the rooms on its second floor, where its executive lounge is located. These include nine “superior” rooms - all with balconies - and 15 somewhat larger accommodation units in the hotel’s “Bella Vista” category, including one...

Tamares Hotels, which manages the Daniel properties by the Dead Sea and in Herzliya, as well as the Shizen Hotel, a hotel located within the Daniel Herzliya, is expanding to northern Tel Aviv, where it will manage...

Israir Airlines has taken possession of the first of two Airbus A320 planes it has ordered. The planes - the first Airbus craft ever delivered to an airline in Israel - will operate on Israir’s international flights and those flying in and out of Eilat. “Receiving this new plane symbolizes the...

Sun D’Or Airlines has inaugurated a business class compartment with 16 seats, on its flights between Minsk (Belarus) and Tel Aviv. According to Sun D’Or General Manager Bezalel Karvat: “Since the Tel Aviv-Minsk route is used primarily by people flying for reasons of tourism, vacations, and family...

Further to the recent visit to China by Israel Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov (see EMTT #319), the minister met with Shanghai officials to discuss the broadening of tourism cooperation between Shanghai and Israel. The two sides - along with El Al and Air China - agreed to...

LOT Polish Airlines hosted a reception at the Renaissance Tel Aviv early in July to mark the appointment of Israel tourism company Open Skies as the airline’s representative in Israel, Addressing guests on this occasion, LOT President & CEO Sebastian Mikosz announced that “…our major...

Anat Starik-Dahan has been appointed vice president, marketing & sales for Tamares Hotels. Starki-Dahan holds a B.A. in English Linguistics from Tel Aviv University and a certificate in Hotel Management from Israel’s...

“Brazil is hot now,” exclaims Kurt Kaufman, co-managing director of Genesis Tours, “and we have decided that we need additional speakers of Spanish and Portuguese on our staff, to meet the growing demand. Momentum is strong in this market. It has been developing at a rapid pace...

Danny Lempel, in charge of Spanish-speaking markets for Israel tour operator International Travel & Congresses, returned recently from Central America, where he held a number of workshops for agents there, in cooperation with the company’s local representatives, also visiting with local agents...

“Israel Scientific Instruments Ltd., our parent company, which has been involved in the field of medical equipment for many years, took part in the first medical tourism conference in San Francisco, organized by the Medical Tourism Association [MTA] a few years ago,” relates Natalie Steiner, vice president, marketing...

At long last, the Government of Israel has approved a proposal put forth by the country’s Minister of Tourism and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, calling for the abolition of the visa requirement for tourists from the Ukraine. According to Israel Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov, his office has been active for a number of years in the Ukraine to promote tourism from that country to Israel, but that the need for tourists to endure a long and complicated process in order to obtain a visa, has hampered these efforts and also the ability to take advantage of the tourism potential from the Ukraine, to a significant degree. About 73,500 tourists from the Ukraine visited Israel in 2009, and the ministry predicts that as a result of the new agreement, which should be signed later this year after it has been ratified by both ...

According to figures released by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics and the Israel Ministry of Tourism, about 309,000 tourists visited Israel in May 2010, the best May ever on record, an increase of 33 percent over the figure for May 2009 and four percent more than in May 2008.

For the first time since the year 2000, when, in the wake of the Intifada, Israeli tour guides and bus drivers were forbidden to take tourists to Bethlehem, a group of 50 such professionals - selected from among about 500 that applied - have been granted permission to accompany...

Following the success of the project to grade rural accommodation units (zimmers) in the Galilee - an initiative of the Ministry for the Development of the Negev and Galilee - Israel Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov has decided to expand the process of grading zimmers (bed & breakfast...

AFI Hotels is continuing its program of renovations and upgrading of its Crowne Plaza properties in Israel and has turned its attention to the Crowne Plaza Dead Sea, where it is has invested about NIS 8 million...

The Port Hotel, a new three-storey property, opened in Tel Aviv a little more than one year ago. Situation a short walk from the Tel Aviv Port entertainment and nightlife area - hence its name - the hotel offers 21 rooms (some double, some twin), all outfitted with showers, LCD tv, coffee/tea...

“We’ve been enjoying an occupancy rate of about 90 percent these past few months,” reveals Shalom Oman, general manager of Jerusalem’s Olive Tree Hotel. “Since our location is ideal for the Christian pilgrimage market, just about all of our incoming business is from...

“My vision places greater emphasis on a return to true service in f&b, something we all seem to have forgotten,” says Yaron Liberman, who took over as food & beverage manager at the Sheraton Tel Aviv Hotel & Towers a few months ago, “and I’ve started to train our staff to be aware...

The Ritz Hotel Jerusalem has been working on a program to renovate all the rooms in the hotel and to improve other areas too, reports General Manager Issa Dahdal. “Work began in December 2007, when we started on the fourth - the topmost - floor of the hotel. As part of...

Late this past year, the Golden Walls Hotel, Jerusalem completed expansion work on its dining room at a cost of about $500,000, by adding space to it from its old kitchen, and the facility can now seat 210 guests at a time, says Fahmi Nashashibi, co-owner/general manager of the hotel. At the same...

The former St. George Hotel, inaugurated in 1965 as a five-star property in East Jerusalem by the late King Hussein of Jordan and which closed down a number of years ago and was reopened afterwards as a budget hotel offering fewer than 50 rooms, is now being rebuilt based on Islamic...

James Shammas took over as co-owner and manager of the 15-room Azzahra Hotel & Restaurant in East Jerusalem more than a decade ago, and the last time the property underwent major renovations was in the year 2000, with work carried out in the rooms, public sitting area and the garden...

Positioned as a “good three-star hotel suitable for many different markets,” says Marketing Manager Firas Amad, and with about 25 percent of its rooms overlooking Jerusalem’s Old City, the Holyland Hotel was built...

All the rooms in East Jerusalem’s Christmas Hotel were renovated in 2007-8, reports hotel General Manager Sandra Jarjoui. The hotel was closed for about a year while the changes were being implemented and its 36 rooms were reconfigured into 28 rooms and six suites. The bathrooms...

Renovations are nearing completion at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem and the museum is scheduled to reopen on 26 July 2010. The project encompasses 8000 m² of new construction and 20,000 m² of renovated gallery space within the museum’s existing 80,000m² architectural...

Nearly 14 years after one of the most beautiful mosaics ever to be seen in the country was covered over, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), in cooperation with the municipality of Lod has re-exposed a 1700-year-old mosaic. The mosaic, which is extraordinarily well preserved, an Israel...

Further to the report in EMTT #308 regarding future developments at Beth Hatefutsoth Tel Aviv, the Nahum Goldmann Museum of the Jewish Diaspora, the museum has announced a plan to renovate its structure and redefine its focus. According to the announcement, about $25 million...

A new exhibition, “Virtues of Memory: Six Decades of Holocaust Survivors’ Creativity,” opened in April at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day. The exhibition showcases the creative works of close to 300 Holocaust survivors whose artistic expressions...

Design Museum Holon, designed by world-renowned Israeli architect Ron Arad, opened early in March in Holon. The $17 million museum is committed to showcasing the importance of quality design and its...

A new exhibit featuring ancient coins unearthed at the spot, the oldest of which dates back more than 2000 years, has been unveiled at the Ethan and Marla Davidson Exhibition and Virtual Reconstruction Center, located at the entrance to the Ophel Archeological Park, between Dung...

Approval has been granted by the Israel Airports Authority (IAA), for planes to take off from Ben Gurion International Airport during night hours, between 1:40 and 4:30 am, when they have been prevented from doing so until now. Permission for this has been granted for craft with a noise level...

In keeping with the decision by the Israel Ministry of Transport earlier in the year to allow El Al Israel Airlines to operate regularly scheduled services between Tel Aviv and Eilat, the airline began late in June to market these flights, which are scheduled to begin on the first of August. Marketing...

Bicycle tourism, an offshoot of the sustainable tourism movement, is in the process of becoming a meaningful market segment in the country, reports Oded Shoham, owner of Gal-Galil, a company located on Moshav Shadmot Dvora in the Lower Galilee, that specializes in bike trips and...

Part of a developing worldwide phenomenon, the field of medical tourism has been growing in Israel too, and in 2008, according to one report, the country welcomed about 35,000 such tourists and enjoyed income from the treatments they booked, in the neighborhood of $100 million. Dentistry is one...

Guide Yoel Oren is offering a series of regularly-scheduled hikes that are open for public registration, but can also be booked individually as private trips One-day hikes include: Wadi Qelt, from Ein Farrah to Ein Qelt (in the area northeast of Jerusalem); The Jerusalem Hills, from the Ketalav...

Delta Air Lines is increasing passenger capacity between Israel and the United States by nearly 39 percent with the addition of Boeing 747-400 aircraft on its nonstop Tel Aviv-New York route. The 747 replaces the smaller 767-300ER aircraft and complements daily nonstop 777-200ER service...

CNAirways, the private flights unit of Chim Nir Flight Services, with a fleet of 22 helicopters, and private planes, has unveiled its newest program of both private executive jet and helicopter tours. Based at the Herzliya Airport, but with authority to use the helipad atop Tel Aviv’s Azrieli Towers, the airline...

Safed’s annual “Kleizmer” Festival (featuring what is often termed “Jewish soul music”), will take place this year between 10-12 August. This year’s program will be preceded for the seventh year in a row by weeklong master classes in the clarinet, offered by well-known clarinetists from...

The Southern ramparts of the Jerusalem’s Old City walls, from Jaffa Gate in the direction of Dung Gate, will remain open in July and August until 10 pm (as well as during the day), reports Cynthia Douieb, deputy...

The Israel Ministry of Tourism initiated a new advertising campaign early in May at a cost of NIS 34 million. The campaign is scheduled to run for three-months, and its purpose, a spokesperson for the ministry says, “is to take advantage of the positive trend of late in incoming tourism to Israel by positioning...

According to figures released by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics and the Israel Ministry of Tourism, about 317,000 tourists visited Israel in April 2010, the best April ever on record, an increase of 26 percent over the figure for April 2009 and nine percent more than...

A survey carried for the Israel Ministry of Tourism following the ministry’s December 2009-January 2010 marketing campaign in Russia - and before the current campaign spring summer campaign there, budgeted at NIS nine million - shows that 65 percent of Russian tourists would be interested...

Responding to a request from Israel Minister of Tourism Stas Mesizhnikov, a spokesperson for the Israel Ministry of Tourism reports, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations has initiated a campaign among Jewish communities in the U.S. to promote...

“I’ve come full circle,” says Danny Alkalai, who returned recently to Jerusalem to serve as general manager of the Leonardo Plaza Jerusalem, the property he left 27 years ago as reception manager (when it was a Canadian Pacific hotel), to move to Tiberias, and work at the Canadian Pacific...

The Dan Hotels Corporation has purchased the Regency Jerusalem (the former Hyatt Regency Jerusalem) for about $47 million and has announced its intention of renovating the hotel and operating it as a “first-class...

The Ramon Hotel in Mitzpe Ramon opened recently. The cost of the project was about NIS 15 million, reveals Gil Azoulay, whose company also manages two hotels in Jerusalem - the Montifiore Hotel and the Jerusalem Inn. Situated adjacent to Mitzpe Ramon, the new...

“We’re a chain of three small hotels - the Little House in Baka, the Little Hotel in the Colony and the Little House in Rehavia - in three of Jerusalem’s nicer neighborhoods, all owned and operated by the same person,” explains Liat Zusman, manager of the latter. “The Baka property...

(Editor’s note: In EMTT #316, Ariela Shmida-Doron, owner and general manager of the Jerusalem Gold Hotel and president of the Jerusalem Hotel Association, was quoted as saying: “Jerusalem is expensive, certainly when compared to the cost of hotel accommodations in Bethlehem, which can range...

Guided by the fact that so many more women than ever before were occupying key positions in Israel’s hotel industry, Rumi Gorodiski, assistant secretary general of the Israel Hotel Association, decided a couple of years ago to establish the Women Hoteliers Forum. “The general feeling,” Gorodiski...

The Eden Hotel opened recently in Jerusalem. Situated in the Talpiot-Arnona neighborhood of the city, it features 24 fully-equipped suites and rooms, all with air-conditioning, tv and kitchenette.

The Grand Beach Hotel, Tel Aviv has started to offer a mobile telephone deposit service for guests of the hotel. Guests are invited to leave their cell phone at the reception desk, where reception desk clerks will monitor all incoming phone calls, e-mails and SMS messages and present the guest with...

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood has announced that the U.S. and Israel have reached an open-skies aviation agreement designed to liberalize U.S.-Israel air services for the carriers of both countries. Israel will...

For the fourth year in a row, Sabraexpress, is operating flights between Stockholm and Tel Aviv. The flights this year began in mid March and will run every Tuesday until 9 November 2010. Sabraexpress is owned by Sabra Tours AB, which together with Sabra Fokus/Sabra Tours Norway is the...

Israir Airlines, Israel tour operator Eshet Incoming, the Fattal Hotel Chain and the Tel Aviv Hotel Association, have launched a Tel Aviv “City Break” Thursday through Sunday, long weekend package based on Israir’s regularly-scheduled flights from Rome and Milan. Accommodations are in a Fattal...

According to statistics released by the Israel Airports Authority for the first quarter of 2010, more than 2.3 million passengers flew in and out of Israel during the first three months of the year, compared with 1.9 million during January-March 2009. Similarly, the number of flights increased by 8.5 percent. Alitalia enjoyed...

The Fattal Hotel Chain has signed a 10-year lease to manage Eilat’s King City theme attraction, and it plans to invest NIS four million (more than one million dollars) in constructing new attractions in the park, which now, unlike under the previous management, will be open on...

“We had a good tourism year in 2009 with more than the average nationwide occupancy rate in our hotels, “exclaims Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav, “and aside from that, after a break of a good numbers of years, we have begun to see new hotels open in the city. Three new boutique properties...

Based on information from the Port of Eilat, more than 50 cruise ships from Europe are expected to drop anchor there, especially between September 2010 and March 2011 - “two to three weekly in high season, with thousands of tourists,” a port spokesperson says. ”This is large increase...

A new ice rink is under construction in Eilat, near the site of the Kings City attraction, and it is scheduled to open by early spring 2011. It is part of a project that will include a number of different attractions, including an 1880m2 Olympic ice rink designed to host international competitions, ice hockey...

The Municipality of Tel Aviv-Jaffa has announced its intention to lay down infrastructure that will offer free wi-fi service in all the city’s parks and on beaches and major streets. Plans call for this project to be fully operational in about one year. A pilot program is being developed now...

In cooperation with Nazareth’s municipal architect, the Society for the Preservation of Buildings and Historic Sites (HPBHS) is preparing a project for the preservation of historical buildings in the city of Nazareth. According to HPBHS Deputy Director Omri Shalmon, “A major change is about to take...

According to figures released by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics and the Israel Ministry of Tourism, about 313,000 tourists visited Israel in March 2010, the best March ever recorded, an increase of 56 percent...

The Israel pavilion at ITB, which took place early in March in Berlin and served as a showcase for 11,000 suppliers from all over the world, was honored as “Best Exhibitor” at the fair. It had been cited...

“When I took over at the hotel about three years ago, one of my first orders of business was to discuss with the owner, ways of leverage what we have, in order to improve our product and our business,” recalls Eyal Moneta, general manager of Eilat’s Princess Hotel. “Our 64 suites...

The Princess Hotel has received approval from the Municipality of Eilat for the construction of 90 additional suites in four buildings, on part of its lawn area and on one of its tennis courts. This new compound will feature a separate entrance. “The units are being sold on a lease back...

A number of years ago the management then of Israel’s Crowne Plaza Hotels decided to shut down the hotel and renovate it, based on a ‘Garden of Eden’ theme,” mentions the current General Manager David Benheim. “Unfortunately, what it failed to realize was that the true...

The lower level of the Isrotel Chain’s King Solomon’s Palace, Eilat, leading directly out to the new Isrotel Promenade, is being transformed, with two new restaurants, a new large meeting and conference room and a totally renovated and reconfigured spa as part of the program, reports Isrotel...

The Rimonim Eilat Hotel has inaugurated its newly renovated beach, installing 800 meters of ipa wood decks, lawn areas, showers, hammocks, pergolas, chaise lounges and a snack bar. Along with serving as a beach, the area is being marketed as a venue for cocktails, receptions, parties...

Having been appointed recently to the position of general manager of the Fattal Hotel Chain’s Eilat region properties, Roni Aloni is aiming to reposition the hotels under his jurisdiction - and especially those that joined it recently (see EMTT #315) - and to brand them more specifically - so that...

A number of months ago the Queen of Sheba Hilton Eilat inaugurated its new “Chicago” meat restaurant in space occupied previously by “Buffalo,” a former in-house restaurant that also specialized in meat dishes. “The difference is that Chicago is less of a fine dining experience...

Rimonim Hotels, which had been managing two hotel in Eilat, has signed a six-year agreement to manage the Central Park Hotel in the city, reports Assaf Raz, assistant general manager of Rimonim’s Eilat properties, who served as general manager of the Central Park from the time...

As reported in EMTT #313, new furniture has been installed in the dining room of the Dan Eilat. This development was part of the first phase of a three-stage program to renovate the facility, work on which is scheduled to be completed by this coming winter, reports outgoing...

In 2009, the Dan Panorama Eilat renovated 57 “Executive” rooms, along with 10 terrace rooms and four suites, reports outgoing General Manager Lior Mucznik. New carpeting, curtains, bed covers, LCD screens, decorative pillows and lights for the rooms’ make-up tables were among...

The Prima Music Eilat has been equipped with a recording studio, and young guests participating in the hotel’s “A Star is Born” competition, which takes place twice weekly in summer and also at other designated periods during the year, can train free of charge with a voice coach...

Renovations were completed recently on the dining room of the Nova Hotel, Eilat, a member of the Atlas Hotel Chain, explains hotel General Manager Ronen Haskel, “We have reconfigured the area, installed new buffets and new furnishings; nothing remains the same as...

At a cost of about NIS 1 million, the dining room of the Orchid Hotel, Eilat was renovated earlier in the year, reports hotel General Manager Salem Munayyer. In addition, work was carried out to upgrade the look of the swimming pool area. Other improvements include wi-fi connectivity...

The Mamilla Hotel, Jerusalem has signed an agreement with the Design Hotels Group to become its first member in Israel, reports David Tucker, assistant manager sales & marketing for the David Citadel and the Mamilla hotels, both of which are owned and managed by...

At a cost of about NIS 15 million, Prima Hotels has purchased the old 80-room Kolton Hotel, its second property in Tiberias, and is rebranding it as the Prima Too. An additional NIS five million is being invested in renovating the hotel. Work began this past January and is scheduled to...

With nine weekly flights scheduled to operate before summer, Air Berlin has considerably increased its frequencies to Israel. In March a third non-stop flight was added to the two existing direct connections between Berlin and Tel Aviv and since March, Air Berlin passengers from Cologne...

Passengers on El Al Israel Airlines departing for Israel from a number of cities in the U.S., are eligible for a free travel cell phone for their use in Israel and to use on all future visits. This promotional offer is available with the purchase of a roundtrip ticket (in certain classes of service) for departures...

IMTM, the 16th International Mediterranean Tourism Market, took place in Tel Aviv, 9-10 February at the Israel Trade Fairs & Exhibition Center. Suppliers from more than 30 countries exhibited at the fair, along with a large number of tourism suppliers from Israel, and a number of foreign countries...

According to figures released by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics and the Israel Ministry of Tourism, about 212,000 tourists visited Israel in January 2010, an increase of 62 percent over the figure for January 2009, 17 percent more than in January 2008, 83 percent more than...

Having inaugurated its new “Kaete Dan” conference hall late last year, which offers theatre-style seating for about 220, and an adjacent section of its old lobby as an anteroom/foyer for coffee breaks (see EMTT #313), the Dan Tel Aviv has been at work to complete the other outlets in the old...

The David InterContinental Tel Aviv has been renovating 300 of its rooms and suites in recent years, a process that began in 2008. One of the latest activities in this regard, which took place at the end of 2009, was designing two new suites - named “Jaffa” and “Mediterranean” (based on the focus...

A new 900m² spa opened last November at the Crowne Plaza Jerusalem. It has been branded a Cybex spa and managed by Cybex, which until recently managed the spa at Jerusalem’s David Citadel Hotel. The cost for improving and expanding the spa at the hotel was in...

“Operating desert jeeps tours has been my dream for many years,” states Amnon Eliyahu, general manager of Israel Kibbutz Hotels. “We tried to get it going a number of years ago, together with the Society for the Protection of nature in Israel, but without much success. Now, finally...

The Gordon Hotel & Lounge, located on Hayarkon St. in Tel Aviv, across from the Mediterranean Sea, is scheduled to open in April. It is a 12-room property on two floors set aside for accommodations, along with an entrance-level reception area, bar and restaurant and a rooftop...

“We’re celebrating the 35th anniversary of our chain this year,” remarks Caesar Premier Sales & Marketing Manager Israel Hayat, “and we’ve built our reputation and success on a base of loyal mid-range customers. We have yet to finalize plans for what we will do to mark the...

The C-Hotel Tiberias had a very good February, with an average occupancy rate of more than 80 percent, reports Orr Bareket, vice president, marketing for C Hotels, to which the Tiberias property belongs. “It’s a European-style hotel on a three-star level, with two separate wings - the C Wing...

Not too long ago, Ariela Shmida-Doron, owner and general manager of the Jerusalem Gold Hotel, assumed the presidency of the Jerusalem Hotel Association. Now, after giving her time to consolidate her views on tourism in Jerusalem and what needs to be done...

“One of my current goals is to make our hotel attractive enough for ultra-Orthodox Jewish visitors, that they choose us as a four-star-level alternative to the deluxe properties they now frequent during their stays in Jerusalem, since up until now, those were the only hotels where they...

The Ein Harod Guest House, consisting of 42 rooms of three different standards, is located on Kibbutz Ein Harod (Ichud), in the vicinity of Mt. Gilboa, not far from Beit Shean. “We offer 26 standard rooms for groups and FITs, 10 wooden houses, each of which features a gallery and corner...

The south wing of the Ramat Rachel Hotel, located on Jerusalem’s Kibbutz Ramat Rachel, has been closed off, to enable the reconfiguration and upgrading of all 79 of its rooms, reports its Marketing Manager Hillel Fine. Sixteen of these are now available to host guests and expectations...

On 1 April 2010 El Al Israel Airlines will join IATA’s Billing and Settlement Plan - BSP - a system designed to facilitate and simplify the selling, reporting and remitting procedures of IATA Accredited Passenger Sales Agents and improve the financial control and cash...

Low-cost carrier easyJet has announced the launching of a Geneva-Tel Aviv route, which is scheduled to begin operating at the end of August as part of an expansion of its network. Starting 30 August, the airline will operate four weekly flights between Geneva and Tel Aviv. The route would...

Israir Airlines has announced the inauguration of regularly scheduled flights between Basel (Switzerland) and Tel Aviv. As of 24 March the airline will operate two weekly flights on this route. The opening of this new route, the first regularly...

As reported in Globes, an Israeli financial publication, according to an internal document distributed by the Israeli Embassy in Portugal, TAP, Portugal’s national carrier, plans to operate a scheduled route between Lisbon and Tel Aviv. During a visit to Spain and Portugal late...

Low-cost airline Norwegian Air Shuttle is inaugurating a weekly Stockholm-Tel Aviv route in March. Norwegian Air Shuttle is Scandinavia’s second largest airline, flying between Europe, the Middle East and North America.

A number of world famous performing artist will be in concert in Israel this summer. Veteran British rock star Rod Stewart will play at the Ramat Gan Stadium on 1 July. Also playing at the Ramat Gan Stadium will be British rock star Sir Elton...

Following the success of last year’s first Jerusalem Festival of Light, Jerusalem’s Old City will once again form the backdrop for lighting installations, exhibits and works of art in the “Light in Jerusalem” 2010 festival, scheduled for 9-16 June 2010. This celebration of light in an...

Qasr-el-Yahud the ancient Christian baptism sanctified in Christian tradition as the site of Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist, and identified since the fifth century AD as being on the western shores of the river, is in the process of being renovated and if all goes according...

Located in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, the Hurva Synagogue, built originally in the 18th century and destroyed and rebuilt again over the years - until destroyed in 1948 for the last time, after the Old City fell to Jordanian forces, is now in the final stages of a four-year...

“It’s no more than a tourism story, though at times it can become complicated,” says Dany Atar, chairman of the Gilboa Regional Council who, together with the Governor of Jenin Qadoura Mousa, has been working to develop cross-border tourism and tourism programs between...

TLV VIP, a new company offering nightlife services for tourists, has started to operate in Tel Aviv. “There are thousands of visitors to the city, no matter how long they have been here or how often they come, that have no idea of Tel Aviv’s immense assortment of nightlif...

The Association for Tourism Tel Aviv-Jaffa has revealed its marketing plan for the year, and according to the Association’s Director-General Etty Gargir, the theme of the city’s being “Israel’s Playground” will be emphasized. “About two million overnights...

“Tel Aviv views gay tourism as additional leverage for increasing quality tourism to the city,” adds City Councilman Yaniv Weitzman, who has been instrumental in getting the support of the city in promoting it to gay markets. “Therefore, this market will be targeted too as part...

The Jerusalem Development Authority and the Municipality of Jerusalem are in the process of rehabilitating and upgrading the public areas around the Old City’s Jaffa Gate. The work is being carried out by the East...

Kibbutz Neot Smadar, a kibbutz located in the Negev near Ouvda International Airport (which serves incoming tourists flying into Eilat), has begun to promote visits to its facilities, that include a tour of the kibbutz, its sites and activities, along with an explanation of its “alternative” way...

After extensive restoration work carried out by Israel’s Nature and National Parks Protection Authority, Abraham’s Gate reopened to the public recently at the Tel Dan Nature Reserve in northern Israel. Composed of sun-dried mud brick on a foundation of large basalt...

At a press conference held by the Ministry of Tourism late in December at the Leonardo Plaza Hotel Tel Aviv, Israel Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov presented statistical data on incoming tourism to Israel in 2009 and outlined the ministry’s plans for the next three years. According to data presented by the Minister, 2.7 million tourists...

In the course of his visit to Brazil late last year, where he accompanied Israel President Shimon Peres, Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov signed a tourism agreement with Brazil. In inking the new accord, Misezhnikov, the first Israel Minister of Tourism to pay a working visit t...

“About 40 percent of the occupancy rate at the Dan Carmel is comprised of business guests, and practically all of this is from foreign tourists,” remarks Adi Maor, general manager of the Dan Hotel Corporation’s Haifa properties: the Dan Carmel; Dan Panorama Haifa, and the Dan...

Renovations are scheduled to begin on f&b outlets situated the fourth floor of the David Citadel, the dining level, reports David Tucker, assistant manager sales & marketing for the David Citadel and the Mamilla hotels, both of which are owned and managed by Alrov Hotels. The coffee...

Following finalization of the purchase by the Fattal Hotel Chain of all the hotels belonging to Azorim Hotels and the rebranding of many of them as Leonardo properties (see EMTT #314), the chain has reorganized its sales and marketing operations to deal with the new reality of owning...

The Daniel Hotel Herzliya opened two new executive two-room suites this past July, reports Ronit Copeland, vice president, sales & marketing for the Tamares chain, which manages the hotel. The design is hi-tech and minimalistic, she adds. Two additional executive suites are now...

About three years ago, 85 rooms and suites on five floors of the Crowne Plaza Tel Aviv were totally refurbished and upgraded (and the hotel invested even more in these in 2009, upgrading them with higher beds and mattresses, better quality linen and larger LCD tvs). Soon after these 85 room...

The Carlton Hotel, Tel Aviv has started to operate a sushi bar in its lobby. It has also introduced a meat menu as part of its lobby offerings, as well as a new cocktails menu.

Megiddo National Park (traditional site of the New Testament Armageddon), a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2005, is in line for a face-lifting, reports a spokesperson for the Israel Nature & Parks Authority, which manages the site. As part of the plan, the entrance area to the park will be...

About 20 years ago the Alhambra Cinema, the foremost cinema in East Jerusalem, closed down and until recently it has remained shuttered. Recently, however, the building, located on Salah-a-Din Street, was renovated and, at a cost of about $2.3 million, the property opened as a totally...

After examining the implications for competition, of the code sharing agreement signed between El Al and Air China on the route between Israel and China, Israel’s Antitrust Authority has approved it, ruling that the agreement does not threaten competition in any significant way. Rather, explained...

A new program named “Cook in Israel” has been developed for tourists by Orly Ziv, a professional clinical dietician. Designed for small groups of from six to 12 participants, the offerings are one-day outings primarily, though a two-day tour to the Galilee is available too. Each tour focuses...

“Behold, days are coming… when I will make a new covenant…,” is the title of a new program for Christian pilgrims that has been developed by the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem. It is based on a talk that follows the biblical stories in the Old Testament and their relationship to the...

Alon Gafni, who has been organizing desert adventure tours in the area of Mitzpe Ramon and the Ramon Crater, began recently to offer jeep tours in the Jehosephat Valley area of the southern Negev Desert, close to Eilat. The tours, with guiding in English, Hebrew or French, take place...

According to figures released by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics and the Israel Ministry of Tourism, about 330,000 tourists visited Israel in October 2009, nine percent more than the number for October 2008. An increase of six percent was registered this past October in the number of tourists spending at least one overnight in Israel and a 20 percent increase...

In cooperation with the Israel Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of the Interior has introduced a pilot project assuring that tourist visas will be issued within 48 hours to organized groups from the Ukraine. Until now, the procedure took up to 10 work days. According to a Ministry of Tourism...

Meeting in Jerusalem early in December, Israel Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov and Cyprus Minister of Commerce, Industry & Tourism Antonis Paschalides agreed to bolster tourism cooperation between their two countries. Among the steps decided upon at the...

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company has announced plans for its first property in Israel, to be situated at the Herzliya Marina, just a few miles north of Tel Aviv. Due to open in March 2012, the 110-room hotel will also include 85 Ritz-Carlton Residential Suites. About $160 million is being investment...

“We are doing quite well,” remarks Ron Yariv, general manager of the Crowne Plaza City Center Tel Aviv, situated in one of the three towers that constitute Tel Aviv’s Azrieli Center. “At first, the hotel, which opened in August 2008, was trying to sell itself with a Ritz-Carlton sort of image...

In the wake of the approval granted to the agreement by the Israel Antitrust Authority, the purchase by the Fattal Hotel Chain of all the hotels belonging to Azorim Hotels, reported in EMTT #309, has been finalized and, at a cost of about $500,000, the hotels added to the Fattal chain are in the...

The Marina Hotel Tel Aviv has been undergoing renovations, reports hotel General Manager Paul Milwidsky. The first phase was implemented this past June and July in four rooms and four suites, with upgrading work that included replacing the windows, bathrooms, plumbing, air-conditioning...

IMTM 2010, the 16th International Mediterranean Tourism Market, Israel’s annual tourism and travel fair, organized by Ortra Ltd. and Israel Travel News Ltd., is scheduled to take place on 9-10 February 2010 in Tel Aviv at the Israel Trade Fairs & Exhibition Gardens. Japan, Portugal and Estonia...

The Dan Eilat has been ranked in seventh place on the top 10 list of Cond? Nast Traveler’s 2009 Readers’ Choice Awards in the Middle East’s resort hotel category. It was the only hotel in Israel to be named to this roster. “The honored privilege to appear on the list of such a renowned...

“All our 217 rooms, including our junior suites, were upgraded within the last 18 months, with new carpeting, curtains and fabrics,” reports David Szeinuk, sales & marketing manager for the Park Hotel, Jerusalem. “However, improvements in the 30 rooms on the sixth floor have been...

Streamlining Energy Use in Hotels Late in December (after we will have gone to print), the Israel Hotel Association is sponsoring a conference on “Streamlining Energy Use in Hotels,” scheduled...

“We are the largest conference hotel in the North of Israel,” remarks Saleem Ghomeid, sales manager, business accounts for the Golden Crown Nazareth, “and we’ve been working of late to improve our meetings product, as a way of attracting not only local conferences, meetings and...

For the ninth consecutive year, the Red Sea International Music Festival will be held in Eilat. It is being sponsored by the Israel Ministry of Tourism, the Eilat Municipality, the Eilat Hotel Association, the Israel Ministry of...

About 14 winter series are scheduled for Eilat for this winter season, says Eilat Hotel Association General Manager Shabtai (Shabi) Shay: three from Paris (by Touriscope, Arkia and the Isrotel chain), along with El Al’s regularly scheduled flights that feature Eilat extensions; one from Luton...

“In 1996, Jerusalem ranked in fourth place worldwide for international conferences and conventions,” says Ilanit Melchior, tourism business consultant for the Jerusalem Development Authority (JDA). “But soon afterwards the Intifada broke out and international gatherings in the city ground to...

After having been closed for nearly three years in the wake of a fire, the observation tower at the Hula Nature Reserve in the Upper Galilee reopened to the public earlier in the year. NIS 150,000 (nearly $40,000) were invested in tearing down the remains of the old tower and replacing it...

HQ Travels was established in September 2008 as an incoming operation specializing in travel to Israel from the CIS, countries that were part of the former Soviet Union. One significant company focus is on FIT travel, with medical tourism being one of the segments it has been promoting, while parallel...

WTM is the most exciting event of the year in the travel industry. The Israel Government Tourist Office has been preparing to ensure that visitors to our stand EM960 are able to understand fully the range of possible holiday experiences and new opportunities that have...

According to figures released by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics and the Israel Ministry of Tourism, about 242,000 tourists visited Israel in September 2009, eight percent fewer than the number for September 2008, though 32 percent higher than for...

Based on a decision by the Israeli government, the Israel Ministry of Tourism has earmarked NIS 8.5 million for the development of accommodation units in the Negev and Galilee by residents of the rural areas of these regions and for the establishment in the Negev and Galilee...

Tourists from Serbia and from Montenegro visiting Israel are no longer required to obtain a tourist visa. During his visit this past September to the Serbian and Montenegrin capitals, Israel Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Lieberman signed agreements with his counterparts...

“This past decade our Internet business has grown twenty-fold,” states Rafi Baeri, vice president, marketing for the Dan Hotels Corporation. “One of the reasons for this, I believe, is the fact that our site lists full information for all our hotels. Another is that many consumers prefer buying...

Having opened as a “lifestyle” hotel this past June (see EMTT #309) with only four of its floors operational, along with the reception and lobby area complemented by the lobby espresso bar and the signature black metal staircase; the dining room/evening ballroom; three modular...

“We just marked our 10th anniversary and we remain a very successful hotel,” exclaims Dov (Dubi) Rakia, general manager of the Sheraton City Tower, Ramat Gan, located in Israel’s Diamond Exchange area, just over the road from Tel Aviv. “Most of our guests are visitors...

More than a year in the planning, the new sushi bar at the Plaza Jerusalem opened a short while ago in the lobby of the hotel. “Two master sushi men worked these couple of months to adopt their sushi know-how to the rules of kashruth [Jewish dietary laws] without diminishing the...

Located in an old building in Tel Aviv’s Neve Tzedek neighborhood, the Neve Tzedek hotel opened late in 2008. The owners of the hotel, a family from the neighborhood that also owns a local wine bar and a restaurant, were responsible for the design of the property, since one of them...

“The construction of the Isrotel Beresheet Hotel is progressing at a rapid pace and it is expected to open in September 2010,“ reports Isrotel Managing Director Raffi Sadeh. Being constructed at a cost of about $40 million, the...

“Overall, 2009 has been a good year for us,” remarks Etty Levy, general manager of Prima Hotels, “and the most satisfactory development is the substantial increase in the number of FITs booking with us - up about 40 percent. This was our best achievement this year and I’m sure it’s because...

Harris Rosen, president these past 35 years, of Rosen Hotels, consisting of seven properties in Orlando Florida, with a total of about 6000 rooms, spent six days in Israel in October. He was invited by Ben Gurion University of the Negev to attend a symposium on branding...

“We have been devoting much though and action to the food & beverage aspects of our property, and judging by the responses to date, “we have been successful in upgrading our product,” reports David Cohen, general manager of the David InterContinental...

The Orchid Hotel, Tel Aviv is continuing with its program of renovations, which until now has seen all 182 rooms (including 28 suites) refurbished totally, bathrooms included, and new automatic mini bars that were added not long ago. Also refurbished at the same time were the...

The Shalom Hotel, Tel Aviv has become part of the Atlas Chain, which rented it for a period of 20 years. The hotel has just closed down for renovations and expectations are for it to be reopened this coming spring, after having been refurbished and upgraded. The cost of renovating the...

With the incorporation of more and more rooms to its hotel pool from the private apartments that are also a part of the property, the Seasons Hotel, Netanya has been growing and it now features 105 rooms, “compared with the 83 that we had when I started here about a decade...

Based on an agreement between the Olive Tree Hotel, Jerusalem and the Lerner Center at the Mount Scopus campus of Hebrew University, guests staying at the hotel can use the facilities of the Lerner Center gym free of charge. The facility, which is a five-minute drive from the...

During a press conference organized early in August in the offices of the Israel Airports Authority, Israel Minister of Transport Israel Katz reported that his Ministry is considering Ramat David, an Israel Air Force facility located in the country’s North, in the Jezreel Valley, as the site for...

Starting from early November, Lufthansa plans to operate narrow-bodied Boeing 737-800 craft belonging to Swiss airliner PrivatAir on its Munich-Tel Aviv route, Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Two classes of service will be available, as they are on Lufthansa’s...

Sabre Holdings has agreed to buy El Al Israel Airline's 49 percent stake in their joint venture Sabre Israel Technologies, the Israeli carrier said, with market sources estimating it was above $10 million. Sabre Israel was set up in 2001 to distribute the Sabre Travel network among...

Delta Airlines plans to introduce Boeing 747-400ER craft on its New York-Tel Aviv route, replacing the Boeing 747-300ER planes it uses now on flights between JFK and Ben Gurion. The larger craft will begin to operate early in June 2010, and will result in an increase of 187 seats daily between the two cities.

As part of the expansion of its activities in Italy, from which it has started to operate regularly-scheduled flights between Israel and both Milan and Rome, Israir Airlines has signed an agreement with AVIAREPS, for that company to serve as its GSA in Italy, to market its flights to Israel there...

Work has being completed on the new auditorium at the Palmach Museum, adjacent to Tel Aviv University in the Ramat Aviv district of the city, which opened officially in October. “Palmach” is the acronym for “Plugoth Mahatz,” Hebrew for “Striking Force,” and the museum...

Late last year, as part of the 10th Olive Branch Festival in Acre, the Crusader Knights Halls in the city served as the venue for the Israel’s joining other Mediterranean countries and founding the Israel Olive Tree Route project, an initiative on the part of UNESCO and the Council...

Tiberias has been investing of late in improving and developing its infrastructure as a tourism city, reports Limor Portal-Lallush, director of the Tiberias Hotel Association, with the major emphasis in two sections - the lakeside promenade and the areas leading down to it, and the area...

“Tal Aviation was founded in 1987 as a global corporation with a strategic vision,” relates Angel Weinstein, the company’s vice president for corporate planning & business development, “and though headquartered in Israel it has started to operate in many countries, mostly in...

“Hertz International is changing,” relates Ariel Tovel, sales manager, leisure for Kesher Rent-a-Car, Hertz franchise holder in Israel. “It’s not just a matter of logo and image, but of becoming reinvigorated and focusing more on changes in customer needs. And we, as Hertz franchisees, are...

The Old Jaffa Development Corporation (OJDC) is in the midst of a massive tourism development project, says Dafna Nof, who serves as an advisor for the OJDC. Part of this is the creation of a new Visitors’ Center. In space in Kedumim Square, Old Jaffa’s...

Located on Kibbutz Lavi, an Orthodox Jewish kibbutz in the Lower Galilee, the Selah Workshop creates personalized experiences designed to supplement tours in Israel, either at the kibbutz, or elsewhere in Israel. Workshops range from two hours to three days in length and are available...

Russell Lord, marketing & tourism consultant for Kenes Tours, has been promoting gay tourism for many years. “I had been organizing gay travel to Israel since the early ‘80s, serving as an informal consultant to colleagues from abroad that wanted information on Israel, but the thought began to...

After months of politics and negotiations, Israel’s budget was finally approved this past July, and for the very first time it is a two-year budget, for 2009 and 2010. “We’ve been allocated NIS 240 million for marketing in 2009 - though we’ve committed ourselves already to about 80 percent...

According to figures released by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics and the Israel Ministry of Tourism, more than 260,000 tourists visited Israel in August 2009, two percent fewer than the number for August 2008, when 265,000 came. Of those arriving this past August, 212,000 spent...

During a recent study tour of Haifa, Israel Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov announced that the Ministry would be allocating an immediate NIS 2.4 million (about $640,000), a sum the city was promised three years ago, for tourism marketing. He remarked too...

Thanks to the initiative of the President of Mongolia, who visited Israel in 2008, a new tourism agreement was signed by Israel Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov and his Mongolian counterpart in the course of a recent three-day visit to Israel by a delegation of officials that included...

Polish tour operator Itaka, in cooperation with Diesenhaus Unitours and Israir Airlines, will be inaugurating charter flights this winter season from Crakow Poland to Eilat, reports Yehuda Shen, director Central & Southern Europe Department for the Israel Ministry of Tourism. Specific details...

Israel Minister of Transport & Road Safety Israel Katz has accepted the recommendations of the Israel Civil Aviation Authority (ICAA) and has agreed to name El Al Israel Airlines as designated carrier on domestic flights between Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport...

According to data from the Israel Airports Authority, 1.46 million passengers passed through Ben Gurion Airport on 9906 international and internal passenger flights this past August. International passenger traffic during the month stood at 1.42 million passengers, an increase of 6 percent...

Israir Airlines has received final approval from the Israel Civil Aviation Authority (ICAA) on its request to be chosen as second designated carrier on regularly scheduled flights between Tel Aviv and both Stuttgart and Berlin (see EMTT #308). As a result, it is operating three weekly...

Finnish wholesaler Aurinkomatkat will be renewing its flights and packages between Helsinki and Eilat this coming winter season. Between October 2009 and April 2010, the company will be offering two weekly flights between the two cities, complementing Aurinkomatkat’s 12 weekly...

In its effort to promote charter flights from Estonia to Israel - and to Eilat in particular - the Israel Government Tourist Office in Scandinavia (which is responsible for Estonia too), will be hosting an event in Tallinn in cooperation with the Eilat Hotel Association, which more...

The Alexander Hotel, Tel Aviv, which increased the number of suites in the all-suite hotel two years ago by adding three units on the first floor in place of the conference room and by transforming the eighth-floor banqueting hall into a very large Presidential Suite (see EMTT #294), has grown...

The Crowne Plaza City Center, Tel Aviv has launched a new service for its business clientele, and high-speed wireless Internet is now available for business guests at the hotel for a period of 24 hours during their stay, as part of the cost of the room. According to Jacob Sudri, general manager...

As reported in EMTT #310, BSM Marketing has been developing an updated version of “Choose to Have it All,” package, combining the Carlton Tel Aviv, The David Citadel in Jerusalem and three Isrotel properties - the Isrotel Royal Beach Eilat, the Carmel Forest Spa Resort in the Carmel...

Scheduled to coincide with the recent opening of the Leonardo Boutique Hotel, Tel Aviv (see EMTT #310) and the opening early in September of the Leonardo Royal Hotel Berlin, the Fattal Hotel Chain hosted a group of 10 German travel journalists and 10 German celebrities on...

About NIS 100,000 have been invested in the Caesar Premier Eilat, to renovate and redesign its “Caesar Inter-Gan” children’s club, enabling the refurbished facility to meet the needs of young guests, from infancy and through the age of 16, reports hotel General Manager...

“A few months ago, when I came back to Israel after being in Canada for about half a year, I told Rafi Shelef, International Travel & Congresses CEO] that I was looking for something. He, in turn, explained where he saw the company heading and how he was optimistic about continuing to invest...

“Unfortunately, there has been no Israel Government Tourist Office presence in Denmark since the early 1190s,” says Mette Hvid Hansen, manager of Israel specialist Tikva Travel (Spentrup), who launched her company in 2006 and who started to work with International recently. “Danish...

“Autumn Nights in the Old City,” a project of the Jerusalem Development Authority in cooperation with the Municipality of Jerusalem and the Israel Ministry of Tourism, will take place for the second year in a row Tuesday and Thursday evenings until October 26. Among the activities suitable...

Tourists visiting the site of ancient Caesarea are now able to purchase a single ticket enabling them to explore all the aspects of the area at one all-inclusive price. These include the Caesarea National Park and the antiquities and ancient port located there, the Roman amphitheater and...

A new model of the Second Temple has been inaugurated on the roof of the Aish HaTorah Yeshiva (school for Jewish religious studies), situated in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, overlooking the Temple Mount and the Western Wall, where plans call for it to remain...

Prior to setting off for the U.S. in July, where he flew to discuss ways of bolstering tourism to Israel from North America, Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov spent five days in Russia this June, meeting with his counterpart there Vitaly Mutko, First Minister of Sports, Tourism and Youth Policy. This was...

According to figures released by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics and the Israel Ministry of Tourism, about 252,000 foreigners visited Israel this past July (down four percent over the figure for July 2008, but 17 percent more than the number for July the previous year). Of those...

In an effort targeting Jewish religious audiences, the Israel Ministry of Tourism has decided to market the gravesite of (2nd century AD) Rabbi Shimon Bar-Yochai as a tourism attraction. The tomb is the focus for festivities that mark the Jewish holiday of Lag Ba’omer each spring, and every Lag...

Recently, in response to the growing number of Japanese tourists that have taken an interest in Israel, the publishers of Japan’s “Globe Trotter” series of travel guides added a volume on Israel. Soon after appearing in bookshops late last year, this new book - the first on Israel in Japanese...

The Leonardo Boutique Tel Aviv, the first hotel in the city located in the Ramat Hahayal/Kiryat Atidim hi-tech district, opened for a running-in period late in July, with 80 of its 167 rooms already operational. It has been branded as a Leonardo property, using the name of the chain...

After a break of about a decade, the American Colony Hotel, Jerusalem has decided to employ an in-house sales and marketing manager, reports General Manager Paulo Fetz. “For the last 10 years or so,” he remarks, “the American Colony has employed the services of an outside...

With the opening of the new spa at The David Citadel Hotel, Jerusalem (see EMTT #308), the hotel has continued to develop spa treatment packages, reports Spa Director Guy Nadler. In addition to a 45-minute massage together with dinner at the David Citadel’s Scala chef’s restaurant, three...

At a cost of about NIS 3 million (more than $750,000), a new tourism complex has been constructed on Kibbutz Tirat Zvi, a religious kibbutz located in the Jordan Valley, about three kilometers from Beit Shean. Known as “Gan B’Eden” (A Garden in Eden), it is a rustic accommodations...

Israel enjoyed a record tourism year in 2008, welcoming an all-time-high 3,031,100 foreign visitors - 32 percent more than the figure for 2007 and 13 percent higher than the previous record (in the year 2000). However, 2009 so far has been a slower year, with up-to-date statistics showing...

Approval has been granted by Tel’s Aviv’s local planning commission to renovate the building that served as the city’s first hotel, located on Lilienblum Sreeet, and to transform it into a boutique hotel. The two-storey...

For private hotels in Israel primarily and especially for those with no international representation, BSM Marketing, managed by hotel marketing veterans Mor Barac and Suzy Ben Dori, have started to offer a service to connect the properties via the Internet to GDS and IDS systems and...

The Okeanus Suites Hotel, situated on the Herzliya beachfront and featuring 42 suites of various sizes for hotel use, juniors, one-bedroom and two-bedroom accommodations all facing the sea and complete with fully-equipped kitchenette, all concentrated on the bottom four residential...

Representatives of the Ministries of Transport of Israel and Switzerland have signed a new aviation agreement enabling additional airlines to operate regularly-scheduled flights between the two countries. The previous civil aviation agreement between Israel and Switzerland was...

The Association for Tourism Tel Aviv-Jaffa has produced and published a new English-language guide to the city, “Visit Tel Aviv-Yafo.” (Ed. note: Yafo is the Hebrew name for Jaffa). The publication covers all of Tel Aviv’s sites and sights. According to Association Director General...

With the opening recently, at a cost of NIS 10 million, of the Museum of the Good Samaritan, located on the Jerusalem-Jericho Road near Ma’aleh Adumim, about 10 minutes east of Jerusalem. Israel has inaugurated its first museum of mosaics at a West Bank Christian site. It is based primarily...

Scheduled to take place between 7-11 March 2010 and with overnights in local field schools, hostels and hotels, Tour d’Israel is being planned as Israel’s first international bicycling competition - a five-day, 768-kilometer cycling event from Mt. Hermon in the North to Eilat on the shores of...

By EMTT Special Jerusalem Correspondent & Former Director IGTO, London Amnon Lipzin For many years, the U.K. was the number one source of tourism from Europe to Israel, and year after year, one third of those that visited...

According to figures released by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics and the Israel Ministry of Tourism, about 208,400 foreigners (down 13 percent over the figure for June 2008) visited Israel this past June. Of these, 178,800 were classified as tourist arrivals and out of them, about 154,200 arrived...

A couple of years ago, the former Express by Holiday Inn property that was part of Israel’s Crowne Plaza & Holiday Inn chain (renamed AFI Hotels a short while ago) was rebranded as the Express Beat Eilat and transformed into a hotel for young guests. Just recently, the former Holiday...

Further to the mention in EMTT #308, the Fattal Hotel Chain has purchased Azorim Tayarut’s chain of 12 hotels in Israel, comprised of the former Sheraton Moriah and Accor properties. The hotels bought by the chain are: Eilat: the Moriah Plaza (the former Sheraton Moriah) and...

After years of planning and construction, the Mamilla Hotel, situated in Jerusalem across the road from its sister property The David Citadel, opened for guests this past June. Branded a “lifestyle property” by its creators and management, the Mamilla is a luxury property conceived in a...

The Inbal Hotel, Jerusalem opened a new health club this past April in the area of the hotel leading out to the swimming pool, expanding the previous facility by raising the ceiling and also by adding new space from the old hair salon and from an area vacated by offices that were moved...

“The last major renovations at the hotel took place in the year 2000, and then the focus was on our public areas,” recalls Maya Chass, director of marketing for Hilton Israel. “Now, based on a project that has been in the planning stages for a couple of years [see EMTT #291], we’ve turned our...

At a cost of about NIS 11 million (more than $2.8 million), the swimming pool at the King David Jerusalem and the kiddies pool too have been rebuilt, reports Rafi Baeri, vice president, marketing for the Dan Hotels Corporation (to which the King David belongs). As part of this work, the entire...

At a cost of about NIS 10 million (approximately $2.55 million), renovations, which began in December 2008, have been completed at Prima Hotels, Galilee property, the former Prima Tiberias, now rebranded as the Prima Galil. “Just about everything in the hotel has been...

Five years in the planning, construction of a sister hotel to Abratel Suites in Tel Aviv, behind it on a street running parallel to that where the current property stands, is expected to get underway before the end of the summer, reports Hezi Hacohen, general manager of Abratel Suites. While the current...

The Amiray Hagalil Spa Hotel, a 17-room property located in the Upper Galilee on Moshav Amirim, close by the road connecting Safed to Acre, is part of a developing trend in Israel’s b&b market to develop properties that are larger than “zimmer” enterprises, though smaller than most hotels, and which...

Galit Heller-Halfon has been appointed to serve as director of sales & marketing for the Mamilla Hotel, Jerusalem. A 19-year veteran of Israel’s hotel industry, she served at various times in the past as director of sales & marketing, director of corporate sales and f&b manager...

Early in July, at the very last minute, as Israel’s budget was about to be voted on in the Knesset, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intervened and decided in favor of abolishing the section of the budget proposal that, if enacted, would have made tourism services in the country used by foreigners...

Starting mid December this year, the Isrotel Hotel Chain will operate direct flights from Luton, (London) to Eilat, reports the chain’s Managing Director Raffi Sadeh. “In light of the global economic situation and the decision of tourism wholesalers in the U.K., including El Al, to cease or reduce...

Ben-Gurion International Airport has opened its first fitness facility. The gym, which occupies 200 m² of space and was built at a cost of approximately NIS 4 million, is being operated as a private franchise. It is located...

Budget airline easyJet has announced plans to fly to Israel, scheduling six flights a week between Luton (London) and Ben Gurion starting the first week of November 2009. Flights will depart daily except Friday and tickets have been put on sale already on the airline’s website. “For the first time the traveling public...

Jet 2, the low-cost airline that launched a weekly flight between Manchester and Tel Aviv this past May, is planning to add a second weekly frequency. According to Philip Meeson, chief executive officer of Jet2.com, the decision to add a second service to Tel Aviv is based on increased customer demand. “The feedback...

Authentic Israel, the incoming subsidiary of the Tlalim Group, which underwent a series of transformations over the years - as part of Egged Tours and Kenes Tours at various times and also as owners of Tal Tours in the U.S. during the 1990s and has been working of late as an independent tour...

Through the end of August this summer, the Ramparts Walk on the southern section of Jerusalem’s Old City wall - from Jaffa Gate towards Dung Gate - walls will remain open evenings as well, a spokesperson for the attraction says. In addition to regular daytime hours, visitors will...

“Saving the Stones,” a joint project of the Israel Antiquities Authority, the Old Acre Development Company, Israel’s International Council on Monuments & Sites and the Israel National Commission for UNESCO, is being offered, enabling young adults between the ages of 20 and 30 to become...

The 23rd annual Red Sea International Jazz Festival will take place in Eilat between 23-26 August this year. It will feature performances by 11 international ensembles and 11 from Israel, including world-renowned jazz performers and young local artists. This year marks a change in scheduling...

Avis Israel has prepared for the summer season, renewing its fleet of rental vehicles by purchasing 700 new cars, including the Chevrolet Cruise, Toyota Prius, Mazda 2, 3 and 6, Ford Mondeo and Daihatsu Sirion, among others. “We’ve based our decision on our anticipation of a lively...

The Olympic Experience Museum at Hadar Yosef, Tel Aviv, a one-hour interactive multi-media tour that has been six years in the planning and execution, has finally opened. Developed at a cost of NIS 15 million the five-rings show - five rooms, but defined in keeping with the five Olympic circles - is a theater...

Following the pilgrimage visit to Israel in May of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, the Israel Ministry of Tourism has launched a marketing campaign via its Israel Government Tourism Office branches abroad. The campaign is targeting the Catholic Church’s 1.3 billion followers...

According to figures released by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics and the Israel Ministry of Tourism, 203,000 tourists from abroad spent at least one night in Israel this past May, a decrease of 20 percent compared with the number for May 2008. In addition, the number of one-day visitors...

The Israel Ministry of Tourism’s Investments Center Administration has approved grants for 10 tourism projects for the North of Israel, Jerusalem, Ashdod and a number of areas in the periphery of the country. The projects selected to receive this benefit are: a new 66-room hotel in Ashdod...

The Israel Ministry of Tourism has been granted Tourism Committee permanent observer status by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), until it is granted full membership status. Earlier in the year, prior to relinquishing his post, the Ministry’s...

After a visit to Eilat as part of his first official tour of tourism cities and sites, Israel Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov is preparing a plan for the development of southern Eilat. Included are projects for the construction of new hotels and other accommodation facilities and the development...

Israel Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov has also come out in favor of a tourism master plan. “For five years, or three at the least,” he insists. “It would enable us to deal with the economic crisis and also develop plans and programs to put us in a position to compete with our neighbors. We’re losing...

Following a speech early in June by Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which he outlined his vision for lasting peace in the Middle East and - among other things - his understanding of the role tourism could play in this “new order,” Eli Gonen, president of the Israel...

During a recent visit to Tiberias, Israel Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov announced the intention of his office to preserve the legacy of Rabbi Moses Maimonides (known as the Rambam, an acronym for his name), one of the most famous rabbis, philosophers, physicians and scholars...

This past March the Israel Ministry of Tourism inaugurated a tourism office in Beijing China for the first time. The new office was created in the wake of the ADS (Approved Destination Status) agreement signed between Israel and China last year, and expectations are that this accord will...

After scheduling the launch for late last year (see EMTT #302) and then reconsidering the concept it had developed and postponing the inauguration of the facility for a number of months, the Spa at The David Citadel has finally opened. “We’re not located in the heart...

The Fattal Hotel chain and El Al Israel Airlines have begun implementing a new agreement according to which tourists purchasing a ticket on El Al are granted a $100 discount on a Fattal Hotels holiday package, while guests at the hotels in the chain are eligible for a $100 discount...

After being totally renovated a few years ago (see EMTT #270) and after beginning to developing its business tourism market (see EMTT #283), the Grand Beach Hotel, Tel Aviv has finished upgrading 50 of its 212 rooms, transforming them into “premium” rooms with an eye to the

About NIS 30 million (close to $7.5 million) have been earmarked for investment in expanding the complement of rooms and facilities at the Hagoshrim Hotel, situated in the Upper Galilee on Kibbutz Hagoshrim. As part of this project, 48 new rooms will be constructed, defined by a spokesperson for...

The Crowne Plaza City Center Tel Aviv has started a shuttle service by its trademark New York City yellow cab, from the hotel to Tel Aviv’s beach, reports Jacob Sudri, general manager of Africa Israel Hotels, which...

The Herods Complex, Eilat has launched a new members club named Herods Club, where members are eligible for discounts and benefits during each stay at any Herods hotel. In addition, members will be notified before the public at large, of any new benefits or specials at Herods. They will...

Four hotels in Israel that until now were branded as Sheraton properties - the Sheraton Moriah Tel Aviv, Sheraton Jerusalem Plaza, Sheraton Tiberias and the Sheraton Eilat - have become part of Israel’s Azorim chain and no longer bear the Sheraton name. According to reports...

ILH, Israel’s chain of independent hostels, has launched its hostels guide in English for 2009. Along with a roster of the organization’s more than 40 hostels and information on them, the guide includes detailed informational maps on Israel, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv city maps, recommended...

As part of its recent renovations and upgrading activities, (see EMTT #302), the Ramada Jerusalem has opened a new Internet room with six pc’s for the use of guests in its Royal wing. In addition, the rooms on floors 11 and 12 of the wing have been totally renovated and a business center has been opened on the 12th floor.

Located in East Jerusalem, close to Damascus Gate and the Garden Tomb, the 16-room Jerusalem Hotel opened in 1950 as a guesthouse. “It was partially destroyed in 1967, seven years after my father bought it, but was then rebuilt,” observes hotel owner Raed Saadeh. “In 1980 it was upgraded...

“Ever since visa requirements were abolished for Russian tourists visiting Israel, the number of Russians visiting Israel - and also staying at our hotel - has increased,” says the Dan Tel Aviv’s newly appointed General Manager Etay Eliaz, “and we have been hosting...

This past April, renovations were completed in the lobby of the Dan Accadia, Herzliya, reports the hotel’s Rooms Division Manager Ben Yanover. The lobby lounge restaurant was widened and also outfitted with new parquet flooring, furnishings, Wi-fi connectivity, a more...

After undergoing wide-ranging renovations at a cost of “millions of shekels,” a spokesperson of the property says, the Efrat Hotel, located in the Gush Etzion bloc of settlements, reopened recently. As part of the refurbishing project, nine new rooms and one new elevator were...

About three years ago, Dror Nevo and his wife purchased a large house in Kfar Tabor, a settlement in the Lower Galilee region, and decided to transform the property into a biking hotel, which they named the Hoo Ha Cyclists House. “I was 30 years old at the time and working as the...

Vardit Kaplan has been appointed to the position of manager, incoming tourism for Ophir Tours. Kaplan, who holds a Bachelors degree in Psychology and Business Administration and a Masters degree in Business...

The Israel Civil Aviation Authority and the Ministry of Transport have drafted a proposal for new aviation regulations. It is to be presented to the Knesset (Israel’s Parliament) and if approved will replace the existing 1927 aviation regulations adapted during the period...

Aeroflot, Russia’s second largest airline, has begun to offer a regularly-scheduled weekly flight between Moscow and Eilat, departing from Moscow on Sundays on Airbus 319 craft and arriving at Ouvda (Eilat) at 4 pm local time. The return flight is also on Sunday, reaching...

In preparation for its operating regularly-scheduled flights in the near future within the framework of Israel’s “Open Skies” policy, Israir Airlines has begun to market its flights via various Global Distribution systems. As a result, Israir is starting to offer electronic ticketing. It is also looking into...

British Airways has announced the cancellation of its new weekly flight on the London-Tel Aviv route, which was to have departed from Heathrow Terminal 5 on Thursday afternoons, returning the next day to London from Tel Aviv (see EMTT #306). According to British Airways...

Representatives of the Israel Ministry of Transport & Road Safety and its counterpart in Brazil have signed an aviation agreement. According to the terms of a memorandum of understanding between the two countries, each may operate up to 10 regular flights between Israel and Brazil. Of these, seven...

According to a spokesperson from Aerolineas Argentinas, as a result of the inauguration of El Al’s new non-stop flights between Brazil and Israel and in the interest of El Al’s expanding its roster of destinations in South America, President & CEO Haim Romano and a number of his airlines’ senior...

According to Tewolde Gebremariam, coo for Ethiopian Airlines, who visited Israel recently as part of an Ethiopian tourism delegation, the airlines is making tentative plans to operate daily flights on its Addis Ababa-Tel Aviv route, which it would implement if Ben Gurion Airport were to allow it to...

Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport ranked first in the 2008 satisfaction survey of Middle East airports carried out by the International Airport Council's (ACI) for “Airport Service Quality.” The airport ranked second in world rankings of airports with an annual volume of 5-15 million passengers...

Israel charter operator Holiday Lines has announced its intention to operate flights this summer between Israel and five cities in Germany. In addition to service to and from Baden, Berlin and Munich, the company will also introduce flights between Tel Aviv and two new destinations: Weeze...

After an interval of several months Corsairfly, TUI’s French airline, decided to renew flights between Paris and Tel Aviv for the upcoming summer season, based on departures from Orly International Airport, and late in May it began operating two weekly flights on the route. Corsairfly flights...

A new wing was inaugurated late last year at Beth Hatefutsoth, the Nahum Goldmann Museum of the Jewish Diaspora, located on the campus of Tel Aviv University, reports Yael Kurlander, marketing director for the museum. “This is the first stage of an overall program...

A new archeological garden opened recently in the compound of Israel’s Knesset (Parliament). Named “Peace be within Thy Palaces - Jerusalem Antiquities at the Israel Knesset,” it has been designed to serve as a refuge for the activities of the Knesset, but it is also open, free of...

For tourists visiting Israel from countries that were part of the former Soviet Union, Mano Cruises Ltd. has begun a program to promote cruises from Israel, a spokesperson for the company says: “These people usually come for stays lasting between seven and ten days, and while some...

After a 10-year absence, Costa Cruises is returning to Israel and the Costa Marina is scheduled to dock in the Port of Haifa sometime soon, as part of a cruise departing from Savona (Italy) and carrying...

Right before Christmas this year 5000 Franciscan churches in Poland will receive calendars for 2010 that include pictures of 12 sites in Israel, most of which are pilgrimage sites, reports Israel Ministry of Tourism Director, Central & Southern Europe Department and Director, Hosting Operations Department ...

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI traveled to Israel on a pilgrimage journey as part of a trip that began in Jordan and also included a visit to Bethlehem in the Palestinian Authority. About 300 journalists from around the world covered the pope's visit to the region. The Yad Vashem Memorial to the Holocaust, the Temple Mount, the Western Wall, the Room of the Last Supper and the Church...

After being closed for a number of months for upgrading and renovations (see EMTT #302), the Executive Lounge compound at the Sheraton Tel Aviv Hotel & Towers reopened recently. Reconfigured totally, the lounge features newly tiled floors...

Only one year after it opened, the Dan Boutique Jerusalem has been selected for membership in “Tablet Hotels,” reports Rafi Baeri, vice president, marketing for the Dan Hotels Corporation. According to the Tablet Hotels website: “We wade through tens of thousands of hotels and we bring...

On 10 June 2009 the Basel Hotel Tel Aviv will become a member of the Fattal Hotel Chain. Until October, when renovations on all the rooms are completed, the property will continue to operate as the Basel Hotel. Then it will be rebranded as the Leonardo Basel, one of a number ...

The Rimonim and the Tamares chains of hotels have joined together to offer three packages this year that target the incoming tourism market, each addressing the needs of a different market segment: a bar mitzvah package based on Tamares’ Daniel Herzliya and either the Rimonim...

The Carlton Hotel Tel Aviv, The David Citadel in Jerusalem and three Isrotel properties - the Isrotel Royal Beach Eilat, the Carmel Forest Spa Resort in the Carmel Forest outside Haifa and the Isrotel Dead Sea Resort & Spa - have joined together to offer a “Choose to Have it All” package,” reports...

Valid on stays between 4 May and 3 July 2009, when registered members of the Priority Club of the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) book any two nights - and not consecutive necessarily - in any hotel in the group, they will be entitled to enjoy one free night at any hotel in the chains...

“With the exception of the construction of our Sequoia Hall, very little happened here until a new general manager took over about two years ago. Then, we decided that we needed to renovate and upgrade our rooms,” relates Mali Lichi, marketing & sales director for the Ma’ale Hachamisha...

The Israeli Cabinet has appointed Noaz Bar-Nir to the position of director general of the Ministry of Tourism, effective as of 1 June 2009. In the past, he served in the Ministry of Finance as coordinator of the ministry team dealing with health. Bar-Nir comes to his new position after...

With Israel’s annual budget for 2009 having been approved by the Israel cabinet just as we are going to press and with votes in the Knesset (Israel’s Parliament) on the bill scheduled to take place shortly, the issue of imposing VAT on incoming tourism services beginning in 2010, an idea raised...

Eli Maor has been appointed general manager of the Mamilla Hotel, Jerusalem, scheduled to open soon (see EMTT #305). He moves to Jerusalem after serving as general manager of the Sheraton Eilat, a position he took up a number of years ago after having worked earlier in his career...

Israel tour operator Diesenhaus Unitours has launched a new tourism portal for use by both agents and the public at large. The portal, in keeping with the “travel 02” concept upon which it is based, combines both sales and information, including a section for recommendations and other...

As first mentioned in EMTT #305, a grand production of Guiseppe Verdi’s opera Nabucco, which tells the story of the destruction of Solomon’s Temple by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon (605-562 BC), and of the Israelites in Babylonian exile, has been scheduled for June 2010 at Masada, the UNESCO...

Israel tour operator Eshet Incoming has been designated exclusive tour operator for the incoming market, for the Nabucco events (see above). “The way it looks now, Nabucco will be the major summer event for 2010,” says Eshet Incoming Managing Director Amnon Ben-David. “Therefore, the...

A total of 11,550,424 passengers on 94,646 international and domestic flights passed through Ben Gurion International Airport in 2008, reports Ben Gurion Managing Director Zeev Sarig. International passenger traffic totaled 11,071,588 last year - an increase of 9.6 percent compared...

According to figures released by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, Israel welcomed 152,000 foreign visitors in February 2009. This was 24 percent lower than the figure for the previous February. Of the total, 139,000 were registered as tourists while 13,000 were classified as day visitors.

A new virtual tour of Israel has been added to the website of the Israel Ministry of Tourism. The new material (at www.goisrael/vt) is comprised of 100 videos, 130 panoramic photos and dozens of other photographs, enabling surfers to enjoy a virtual tour of the country on...

Starting July 1, 2009, Delta Airlines will operate a second non-stop flight between JFK, New York and Ben Gurion International Airport, flying four times a week on the route. The new flights will be on Boeing 767-300ER craft with 215 seats, 34 of which will be in Business Class. In total, the airline will be operating 18 non-stop flights this summer between New York and Tel Aviv.

U.K. airline BMI has doubled its service between London Heathrow and Tel Aviv from one to two daily flights. Though all flights are now on Airbus A321 craft, BMI will switch over to A330 craft on the route early in May. From then, it will provide three classes of service: business; premium economy, and economy. Business...

Taking Advantage of Tourism, an Israeli Natural Resource Israel is blessed with an amazing natural resource, which until now has hardly been noticed, and it can be used as a catalyst...

At a cost of about $2 million, the project by the Carlton Hotel Tel Aviv to reconfigure and upgrade its lobby and move its main entrance to the northern side of the hotel (see EMTT #291 & #302) has drawn to a close, reports Director of Marketing & Sales Michal Galili. Inside the lobby, the reception...

Complementing the services and facilities of the Manta Dive Center, which is located on its premises, the Isrotel Yam Suf Hotel, Eilat has adapted 170 of its rooms so that they reflect the underwater diving ambience of the hotel. Each of these rooms now features underwater photographs...

The Colony Hotel, a new boutique property housed in an original Templar building situated on Ben Gurion Avenue in Haifa’s German Colony, which served as the (former) Appinger Hotel for many years in the past, opened recently, reports Avi Agajany, general manager of the management ...

The two newest properties of the Atlas Hotel Chain, the Sadot Hotel, about 12 minutes from Ben Gurion International Airport, and the Arts +in Tel Aviv (see EMTT #302), have now opened.

Stas Misezhnikov, a member of the Yisrael Beitenu (“Israel our Home”) party, a member of the coalition government headed by newly-elected Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has been selected to serve as Israel’s new Minister of Tourism. Misezhnikov served in the previous government...

In preparation for the arrival in Israel on May 11, of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to Israel (see EMTT #305), Israel’s new government has appointed Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov to head an inter-ministerial committee delegated with the responsibility of making preparations...

A new attraction has been introduced in Jerusalem at the facility where the “Time Elevator,” a simulator ride through 3000 years of history in Jerusalem, has been showing for more than 10 years, reports Aharon Bernshtein, general manager of the Time Elevator. Known as “Aerial Odyssey,” it is a 40-minute...

After a false start in 1998, the Hamei Gaash Hot Springs opened two years later on 4.5 acres of land on Kibbutz Gaash, located adjacent to the Mediterranean Coast between Herzliya and Netanya. “The story began in the 1990s, when exploration for oil was carried out on the kibbutz,” relates Hamei Gaash...

In cooperation with the Municipality of Tel Aviv-Jaffa and the Israeli Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Association, the Association for Tourism Tel Aviv-Jaffa will be promoting the city this year for the first time, as a destination for gay tourism. Based on this new initiative, a number of cooperative...

The International Center for Tzfat Kabbalah, located in Safed, has developed two products for both groups and FITs, based on the kabbalah (Jewish mysticism). One is a half-day program called “A Kabbalah Tour of Tzfat.” It features stories of kabbalists, artists and ancient Safed. The second, known...

The seventh International Meeting of the Global Passenger Network (GPN) - a gathering that is held at a different member destination every six months - took place in Israel for the first time late this past March at the Kfar Maccabiah Hotel, Ramat Gan. It was hosted by Maya Tours, the only member...

The Red Sea, Dead Sea and Ein Gedi are three of the 261 qualified national and multinational nominees that have reached the second phase of the “New 7 Wonders of Nature” competition (www.new7w.com), in which...

Israel's first museum dedicated to comics and cartoons - one of only 12 such museums in the world, a spokesperson for the facility says - opened in the city of Holon (close by Tel Aviv) late last year. The 430-m² facility features three permanent exhibitions: one on the work of six pioneers of Israeli...

The Israel Airport Authority has invested about NIS 150,000 in a new biometric system at the Taba/Eilat crossing point, enabling people already registered for the biometric system at Ben Gurion International Airport to use their swipe cards when exiting and entering Israel at Eilat, thus streamlining...

IMTM 2009, the 15th International Mediterranean Tourism Market, took place on Wednesday and Thursday, February 11-12, 2009, at the Israel Trade Fairs & Exhibition Center, Tel Aviv. “There can be no doubt that with each passing year, IMTM is solidifying its status as the central framework ...

According to many reliable sources, Pope Benedict XVI will be visiting Israel this coming May as part of a trip that will also include Jordan and the Palestinian Authority. The dates of the trip are May 8-15, beginning in Amman, Jordan and traveling from there to Jerusalem, the Galilee...

As part of the opening ceremonies for this year’s fair, Eyal Shmueli presented the annual IMTM tourism achievement award - named in memory of Ortra founder Zvi Gelfand and Israel Travel News Ltd. founder Amos Kinamon, the initiators of IMTM - to tourism veteran Eliezer Hod, Ministry of Tourism...

According to figures released by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics and the Israel Ministry of Tourism, Israel welcomed 130,000 foreign visitors in January 2009, which was 30 percent lower than the figure for the previous January, but 12 percent higher than that...

Based on a budget of NIS 26 million, the Israel Ministry of Tourism launched its first set of promotional campaigns early in February in targeted areas in Europe, North America and elsewhere. The messages of the campaigns were designed to reinforce the image of Israel as being a safe...

The Investments Committee of the Israel Ministry of Tourism has approved grants totaling NIS 111 million (about $27 million) for 10 tourism projects in the Negev region and in northern Israel. Total investment for these 10 is NIS 570 million. The committee has recommended granting funds...

Situated minutes from the Old City’s Jaffa Gate and the Tower of David, the Mamilla Hotel Jerusalem, sister property and across-the-street neighbor of The David Citadel and the first luxury hotel in the city to be built since The David Citadel was inaugurated about 10 years ago, is scheduled...

“Even though we’ve greatly expanded our efforts into the incoming market in recent years and for 2008 alone our income from incoming grew by 70 percent and we registered 58 percent more incoming overnights than in 2007, many people in the trade still see us as a hotel chain focusing...

Late in 1997, the 60-room hotel in Tiberias known as the Mitzpe Kinnereth was bought by new owners, renovated rebranded as the Royal Plaza Tiberias, and a new 100-room wing was added, as well as public areas. Two years later the hotel’s swimming pool area was inaugurated, complete...

As mentioned in EMTT #302, the 124 rooms (including eight suites) located on the top four floors of the Dan Panorama Tel Aviv, those on floors 15-18, known as the “Carmel” floors, including the hotel’s Presidential Suite, the executive lounge and the dedicated reception area to...

“After the purchase by the Tamares chain of the former Golden Tulip Privilege, the rebranding of the property in 2007 as the Daniel Dead Sea, and the renovations that were carried out in the hotel (see EMTT #288), there were still a number of improvements that were left pending,” says hotel...

At a cost of about NIS 2 million, renovations have been completed on the Marina Club Hotel, Eilat, which became a part of the Rimonim chain in 2008. New flooring, carpeting and LCD tv sets were installed in all 132 suites in the hotel, while furniture was reupholstered. Other improvements...

After being sold, renovated and rebranded as the Montifiore Hotel in the summer of 2003, the 48-room property in central Jerusalem that earlier had been known as the Hanagid Hotel, was leased to new management for six years - with an option for an extension. “We took over the property on...

The Villa Carmel, a new 16-room property located in Haifa’s Carmel district, opened early this year. Built originally as a luxurious hotel in the 1940s “and restored and updated with contemporary design and every modern convenience,” General Manager Moran Peleg says, the hotel..

Featuring 98 suites divided into three categories - deluxe and standard (sleeping up to six pax) of various configurations, along with six penthouses, the Lev Yerushalaim Hotel, located in the center of Jerusalem, is in the process of completed a program of renovations, reports hotel General...

According to statistics released by the Israel Incoming Tour Operators Association (IITOA), approximately 900,000 incoming tourists visited Israel in 2008 within the framework of groups, and this represented about 70 percent of the total foreign bed-night registered in the country’s hotels. The number...

Late this past January, Pastor James Ridgway, founder, executive director and president of Christian travel company Educational Opportunities, was honored at a reception and dinner at the Olive Tree Hotel Jerusalem that marked the 35th anniversary of the...

Two Israeli tour operators, IGT and Gordon Tours, have signed a strategic agreement for the creation of a joint Internet site for agents, for them to use in booking Israel for their clients. Plans call for the new B to B product to be launched at ITB, Berlin, where representatives of the two...

“I’ve been fighting for this for a long time,” says Kurt Kaufman, director of Genesis Tours, in relating to El Al’s decision to launch direct service between Tel Aviv and Sao Paulo Brazil this coming May. “We operated Arkia flights on this route in 2004, but as a private company it wasn’t so easy...

“Not only was 2008 a record year for incoming tourism to Israel, it was a record year for us too,” remarks Samuel Smadja, general manager of Sar-El Tours, an Israeli tour operator specializing in the pilgrimage market. “We deal with pilgrimage only, primarily from the U.S., Germany, Austria, Switzerland...

“All through his campaign, newly-elected Mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat emphasized the importance of tourism,” stresses fellow party member Yehiel (Hilik) Bar, newly elected Jerusalem City Council representative and holder of the municipality tourism & foreign...

Having taken up her new position as president of the Jerusalem Hotel Association, Ariela Shmida-Doron, owner of the Jerusalem Gold Hotel, sees the hotel industry as a tool for increasing employment in the city, and she is pleased that this is a view shared by newly elected Jerusalem Mayor...

In 2008, approximately 415,000 people visited the sites in East Jerusalem that are managed the East Jerusalem Development Corporation (EJDC). This represents an increase of 14 percent over the number of tourists visiting them in 2007. Of these, about 263,000 (an increase of 12 percent) toured...

The first International JOSP Fest (“Journey of the Spirit”), organized by Vatican tour operator Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi, was held in mid January at the new Rome Fairgrounds. A number of tourism companies and associations from Israel were present, including the Israel Ministry of Tourism, El Al Israel...

For the 14th time, the Galilee region of Israel will be holding its “Go Galilee” tourism marketing event. It is scheduled to take place on May 7-11 this year. Go Galilee is being organized by Israel’s Galilee Development Authority (including all the tourism boards and associations in the region), the Israel Ministry...

“Our fleet numbers about 70,000 vehicles, mostly for commercial leasing, though approximately 13,000 are for rental, either long term or for tourists and others,” says Boaz Yacobi, international marketing manager for the Shlomo Sixt car rental company. “We operate 27 branches all...

“With all of the city’s many advantages, it’s not an easy job to move Eilat forward and to promote it as a viable tourism destination,” remarks Seffi Hanegbi, who has been serving this past half year as ceo of the Red Sea Eilat Tourism Administration. “Eilat is caught in a ‘pincer movement’ between...

According to figures released by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics and the Israel Ministry of Tourism, Israel welcomed an all-time record of 3,031,100 foreign visitors in 2008, which was 32 percent higher than the figure for 2007 and 13 percent higher than the previous highest...

As mentioned in EMTT #303, the Tel Aviv Hotel Association, in cooperation with the Association for Tourism Tel Aviv-Jaffa and El Al Israel Airlines, will be repeating its “Tel Aviv City Break” offering, first introduced for IMTM 2008, for this year’s fair. “We have expanded the program with...

As part of the renovations activities it has been carrying out at the northern entrance to Jaffa to reconstruct the urban texture of 19th-century life in Jaffa, the Tel Aviv’s Jaffa Governance is in the process of supervising renovations to the Ottoman Turkish Soraya Building, which was...

In mid 2007, when the Municipality of Tel Aviv-Jaffa took over the 25 acres that constitute Jaffa Port and the Jaffa Marina, the Jaffa Port Administration, a municipal corporation, was charged with responsibility for maintenance of both the marina and the land area. It has also been...

Details and budget have been finalized for the redevelopment of the planetarium at the Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv, “the only one in Israel,” says its Director General Ilan Cohen, and plans call for the current facility to close down for two to three months this coming April or May...

Based on similar programs that have been operating in a number of major Western cities such as New York, London, Rome and Berlin, Natalie Grofman has initiated a number of “Run the City!” concept sightjogging options for Tel Aviv, combining jogging and tourism, and she is now...

According to an announcement by the Israel Ministry of Transport, Israel and Germany have reached an agreement to add new designated carriers on routes between the two countries. Based on the terms of the agreement, each may name two additional airlines as designated carriers to...

While due to the ramifications of the current worldwide economic slowdown and the credit crunch, a project fell through early this year for the erection of a new hotel by the Dead Sea by investors from Russia, the lot in question is still available for construction, as are a number of others, in the area...

El Al is marketing a variety of special promotional offers available to members of its “Matmid” frequent flyer club in the U.S. Matmid Club members traveling from the U.S. to Israel through March 31, 2009 can fly from New York (JFK/Newark) at a reduced...

A fam trips of nearly 100 agents organized by Russian wholesaler Russian Express and its operator in Israel Ophir Tours visited Eilat, the Dead Sea and Tel Aviv in mid January, with the Tel Aviv leg of the trip co-sponsored by the Tel Aviv Hotel Association. EMTT met the group...

For the eighth consecutive year, Maestro Valery Gergiev, artistic & musical director of Russia’s Kirov Ballet and Mariinsky Theater Orchestra, will conduct 290 musicians in the 8th Red Sea International Music...

The annual conference of the Israel Hotel Association was held at the Tel Aviv Hilton late in December, and along with procedural matters, the focus of the day-long assembly was on the world economic crisis and its affect on tourism. Guest speakers from abroad were Prof. Geoffrey Lipman, special...

Italian airline Eurofly has been granted permission by the Italian Government to operate as a second designated Italian carrier between Israel and Italy and to operate regularly scheduled flights between...

Low cost airline Jet2.com has announced the launching of budget flights to Tel Aviv from Manchester Airport. When the weekly service begins, on Thursdays late in May, it will be the only airline to offer non-stop flights to Israel from the North of the U.K. From October 2009, Jet2.com plans...

According to a spokesperson for the Israel Ministry of Tourism, Minister of Tourism Ruhama Avraham-Balila has received assurances from Minister of Finance Roni Bar-On that additional incentives will be granted to developers interested in investing in tourism projects...

The 2008 General Assembly (GA) of the United Jewish Communities/Federations of North America was held in Jerusalem November 16-19, 2008 at the ICC Jerusalem Conventions Center. Taking part in the event, which is being held in Israel for the third time - every fifth year since 1998 - were representatives of more than 3500 representatives from 157 Jewish Federations and 400 independent communities across North America. Many of the participants took advantage of the gathering to tour Israel, either on their own or as part of Federation...

With three charter series flying from Poland to Eilat this winter season and with departures to Israel from Poland taking off from more cities than ever before - ??d? and Katovice, along with Warsaw and Cracow - Yehuda Shen, director of the Central & Southern Europe Department for the...

After having developed a reputation among Israelis, both Jerusalemites and those from outside the city, as one of Jerusalem’s more interesting venues for artistic experimentation and creative artistic productions in both theater and the musical arts, “The Lab,” located in the Ba’aka neighborhood...

Giora Romm, director general of the Israel Civil Aviation Authority, and his counterpart in the Russian Federal Aviation Authority have signed a memorandum of understanding enabling airlines from both countries to operate direct charter flights to Eilat from both Moscow and...

The Crowne Plaza Jerusalem is in the midst of a comprehensive program of renovations, and to date the rooms and suites on five of its floors - 120 out of a complement of 397 - have been completed. “Nearly all the rooms of the hotel are in line for renovations, except for those on the three...

El Al Israel Airlines has announced its intention to begin regularly scheduled flights this coming spring between Tel Aviv and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Estimated flight time will be about 14.5 hours, a spokesperson for the El Al says. The airline is currently drawing up a program regarding the details of this...

More countries than ever before will be exhibiting at the International Mediterranean Tourism Market, scheduled to take place for the 15th time this coming February 11th and 12th at the Israel Trade Fairs & Convention Center, Tel Aviv, and a number of countries - Brazil, Latvia, Montenegro and Panama - have...

Further to its decision to inaugurate flights between Moscow and Tel Aviv and after a examining a number of options in a process that took several weeks, the Israir Group has selected local tour operator SRG Holdings to be its representative in Russia. SRG also serves as Russian representative...

“As a matter of policy, we keep on investing in improving our product, since it’s important to keep our ‘edge’ and to give guests the sort of benefits they only expect in five-star properties,” explains Rafi Farber, owner’s representative of Jerusalem’s Olive Tree Hotel. “That’s the philosophy underlying...

Last November, 851,558 passengers on 8050 international and domestic flights passed through Ben Gurion International Airport, reports Ben Gurion Director Zeev Sarig. International traffic that month...

This past March, renovations were completed in the East House of Jerusalem’s American Colony Hotel, a member of Leading Small Hotels of the World, as all 15 rooms in the building were refurbished, along with its public areas. “It was a total refurbishment,” explains the hotel’s General Manager...

In the 2008 “Readers’ Choice Awards” competition sponsored by SpaFinder.com and by SpaFinder magazine, Isrotel’s Carmel Forest Spa resort was honored with a “Country” award for being the top spa in the Middle East. Voting were about 250,000 readers of the magazine and the website.

Beating out dozens of renowned luxury-class facilities in the region including the Four Seasons properties in Qatar and Amman, the Ritz Carlton Bahrain, Park Hyatt, Dubai and luxury properties in Israel, The David Citadel Hotel has been chosen as the Middle East’s premier hotel by readers of the...

By Rafi Shalev Director of Tourism, Israel Government Tourist Office, UK & Ireland “2007-2008 has seen Israel’s tourism numbers growing. In Israel’s 60th year, the U.K. provided a 29 percent increase in visitors. The usual...

According to figures released by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics and the Israel Ministry of Tourism, more than 260,000 tourists entered Israel this past September, up 44 percent in comparison with the figure for September 2007 and 58 percent compared with the number of entries...

The government of Israel has allocated NIS 20 million (about $5.4 million) over the next two years to promote bicycle riding in Israel, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Tourism says. Based on an interim report published by an inter-ministerial committee headed by...

Leading up to 2009, when the David InterContinental Tel Aviv celebrates the 10th anniversary of its opening, the hotel has been working this year on a wide-ranging refurbishing program, reports General Manager David Cohen: “This past July we finished renovating 240 of our ‘deluxe’ rooms...

Presided over by Chef Oren Yerushalmi, who returned to Israel earlier in the year after working in New York City in the kitchens of restaurants such as Bouley and WD-50, Scala, the David Citadel’s new gourmet chef’s restaurant, opened recently on the restaurants level of the hotel, in space occupied...

Shalom Kadosh, executive chef of the Sheraton Jerusalem Plaza, has developed a new menu for the hotel’s Primavera a la carte Italian fish and dairy restaurant, based, he remarks, on the trend for lighter foods and more salads. As part of this approach, many new dishes have found their way...

“During 2008 too, we continued the policy we have developed, of investing large sums each year in the renovation and upgrading of our properties,” says Dan Hotels Corporation Vice President, Marketing Rafi Baeri. One example of what has been done this year can be seen at the Dan Accadia Herzliya, where...

After the opened of the Cielo Spa, a new 450 m² outsourced facility located on the lower level of the Sheraton Tel Aviv Hotel & Towers (see EMTT #296), the hotel has begun work to transform its old treatments center and health club into a dedicated fitness center. “In 2006, our chain...

“It was the first all-suites hotel in Israel when it opened, about 18 years ago, one of 14 Best Western properties in Israel at the time and the only one that remains under that name,” says Israel Angel, general manager of the Best Western Regency Suites, Tel Aviv, the man who brought the Best Western...

“After a period of 10 years, our contract with the Marriott Corporation ended this past June, and for financial reasons primarily, we decided not to renew it, but instead, to enter into a franchise agreement with Ramada, ” states Rico Rosenthal, general manager of the hotel known now as the Ramada...

Renovations have begun at the Prima Tiberias, reports Miri Falk, the owner’s representative for Prima Hotels. All the rooms will be completely renovated and the d?cor will focus on natural hues; some of the bathrooms will feature bathtubs, in others, showers are to be installed. All the hotel’s systems...

As referred to in EMTT #297, the Atlas Hotel Chain has signed an agreement to manage the Sadot Hotel, located adjacent to the Assaf Harofe Medical Center, about 15 km southeast of Tel Aviv and Ben Gurion International Airport. Scheduled to open in December, Sadot will serve both...

The Isrotel chain has been marketing a series of special packages for dive courses at the Manta Dive Center, Eilat, combined with accommodations at the Isrotel Yam Suf Hotel in Eilat, valid from November 15, 2008 to April 7, 2009. The first package, a PADI open water divers...

The Kibbutz Hotel Chain (KHC) has introduced a series of half-day desert jeep tours, reports David Duvdevani, who is in charge of its marketing and sales. The tours, he explains, can be integrated into any existing itinerary and are available to all guests of the chain. The cost of accommodation is based...

Neve Ativ, a resort village consisting of wooden chalets, situated on Mt. Hermon on the Golan Heights and managed by the Rimonim Hotel Chain, is becoming a bicycle-friendly property, a spokesperson for Rimonim reports. In addition to its ski packages and winter nature tours, the property has...

“Our philosophy of minimizing risks by focusing on a basket of tourism options - both horizontal and vertical - these past seven years, developing both new markets and a variety of market segments while increasing tourism to Israel, continues to prove itself,” remarks Rafi Shelef, managing director...

The Carlton Tel Aviv has completed renovations of rooms and corridors on the last two floors that had not yet been done until now, reports its Director of Marketing & Sales Michal Galili. “This completes a process that began about two years ago. By this past August, when very high occupancy rates forced...

Lomamatkat, a Finnish tour operator that stopped working with Eilat eight years ago, has resumed marketing the destination and is operating a series of flights once a week, scheduled to run through the end of April 2009, reports Zeev Anolik, manager for incoming tourism for Ophir Tours, the tour operator...

For much of his adult life, Yoav Gal would be approached by friends with requests that he build special tour itineraries for them in Israel. About two years ago, he decided to convert his hobby and specialty into a profession and he founded “Israel My Way” - an idea he had carried around in his...

“We’ve formulated a two-pronged strategic development program, that will enable us to expand our facilities,” says Mira Altman, general manager of the ICC Jerusalem International Convention Center (Binyanei Ha’Ooma). “It is based on two components, defining our needs and developing commercial...

“We operate in three separate directions,” explains Reuven Nikolayevski, general manager of Rent-a-Guide. “We own private cars, more than 30 - mostly Mercedes, Cadillacs, Chevys and Fords - which we use for driver guide tours for between one and 17 tourists, and we’ve just bolstered our fleet with the introduction...

Having recently taken over as general manager of the Joe Alon Center, the world’s largest museum for the study of Bedouin culture, locate north of Beersheba, Israel tourism veteran Yuval Shahaf has already introduced three new programs designed to complement the hundreds of objects and artifacts...

“When I told tour operators that I’d be returning to manage our facility at the beginning of January, they were very pleased,” says Ariel Ullmann, owner of the Negev Camel Ranch at the ancient Nabatean city of Mamshit, just outside of Dimona. “Many of them had stopped marketing...

“Almost two years ago at an airport, I saw some ads for photography holidays in the pages of a magazine, and the idea turned me on,” says Mike Jacobs, founder of Dimui, which specializes in photo tours in Israel. “I started doing some research and realized that despite the tremendous potential in...

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee has selected the Bahai Gardens in Haifa and the Bah?’? shrine in Acre as official World Heritage Sites. Last year, 600,000 people visited the Bahai Gardens, and according to statistics collected by the Haifa Tourist Board, 43 percent of the tourists visiting the...

Rodney Hirsch, a professional landscape architect with a love for the desert, is in the process of constructing Makhman Dunes Desert Lodge, a small ecological guesthouse a few minutes from Spa in the Desert, on the local sand dunes. A central building has been completed, built of local mud, castaway...

For tourists staying in Tel Aviv, Israir Airlines is marketing a day trip to the Jordanian Rose Red Nabatean city of Petra, with morning departures via Eilat from Dov Airfield, Tel Aviv (and return). The package includes travel from Eilat Airport to the Yitzhak Rabin...

Oren Altman has taken over as general manager of the Fattal Hotel Chain’s Le M?ridien Dead Sea. He has managed a number of other hotels in the Dead Sea region - the (former) Golden Tulip Dead Sea, the Crowne Plaza Dead Sea and the Magic Nirvana Club and Tulip Inn, the latter two being Fattal...

Late in November the second stage of the codesharing agreement between El Al and American Airlines began (see EMTT #292) Under the terms of the agreement, passengers booking flights on American from a number of North American cities such as Orlando, Las Vegas, Seattle, San Diego, San Jose...

According to figures released by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics and the Israel Ministry of Tourism, approximately 263,800 tourists entered Israel this past August, up 18 percent in comparison with the figure for August 2007 and nearly 216 percent compared with the number of entries for...

At a reception sponsored by the Israel Hotel Association held at the Tel Aviv Hilton late in September, in cooperation with the Council for a Beautiful Israel, where three hotels - Dan Gardens Ashkelon, the Isrotel Tower Tel Aviv and Isrotel’s Agamim Hotel - were awarded citations...

As part of its ongoing efforts to offer improved service to tourists from abroad, the Ministry of Tourism has launched a new “Tourphone” service, with 24/7 telephone information, directions and assistance. Using the new ministry “hotline” number (*3888 from any...

After a lapse of 10 years, Korean Air, which previously flew between Seoul and Tel Aviv between November 1995 and February 1998 but suspended the service in the wake of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, has renewed flights this September, operating between Inchon International Airport (Seoul) and...

The Top Ten Issues By Roni Pivko, member of the baard of directors of the Israel Hotel Association (Translated & edited from an article appearing in the August 2008 edition of “Melonaim,” the Hebrew-language...

Between March 12th, when the line was inaugurated, and September 30th this year, approximately 80,000 passengers flew on the new Delta Airlines route between New York and Tel Aviv, reports Esty Herskowicz, Delta Airlines’ manager in Israel. “We are pleased with the continuing success of our service...

Arkia Israeli Airlines has decided to enlarge its fleet of craft by purchasing two 195-seat planes from Embraer, a Brazilian manufacturer. This is the first time an Israeli and Israeli commercial aviation company will be flying medium-range Embraer E-195 craft.

Within the framework of ongoing negotiations to revoke restrictive civil aviation policies between Israel and the 27 countries of the European Union, that would, in effect, result in a significantly larger number of flights between the two areas, Israel and the EU have signed a memorandum...

For El Al passengers flying to Israel from the United States between October 26, 2008 and March 31, 2009 (except during December 17-24, 2008) and for American Airlines passengers flying to Israel on El Al code sharing flights during those same dates, El Al Israel Airlines is offering reduced-fare...

A new hotel has been approved for Jerusalem. It will be located in the neighborhood of the plot of land on which the new offices of Israel’s Prime Minister are to be constructed, in a part of the government compound between the Supreme Court and the Knesset (Parliament building). The 200-room...

Last October, Lior Gabay took over as general manager of the 17-storey Park Plaza Orchid Tel Aviv - which only one month earlier had been rebranded after being purchased the previous March. Since then, he has been overseeing the hotel’s renovations efforts, which now are drawing...

Earlier this year the Daniel Herzliya Hotel inaugurated its two Presidential Suites, one on the ninth floor and one on the 12th floor of the hotel. Both suites are 110 m² in size, aside from the wooden wrap-around balcony in each that overlooks the Mediterranean Sea, and each features two...

In 2007, for the third year in a row, Jerusalem’s Biblical Zoo was Israel’s most visited tourism attraction, a survey conducted by Dun & Bradstreet, Israel concludes. The zoo was visited by 693,115 people last year, both Israelis and tourists from abroad. Masada was in second place, followed by...

For visitors to Jerusalem that are interested in learning about the city’s Mamilla Quarter, the Alrov Mamilla Avenue - the new shopping and entertainment center adjacent to Jerusalem’s Jaffa Gate - has teamed up with the Tower of David Museum, which is located just inside the Old City’s Jaffa...

Hertz Israel recently inaugurated two new branches in the country. One is in Tel Aviv, in the Ramat Hahayal business and hi-tech district of the city; the other is in Hadera. With the addition of these two facilities, the company now operates 24 branch offices throughout Israel.

After an eight-year hiatus, Neckermann Thomas Cook of Holland, Europe’s second largest tourism wholesaler, has resumed vacation package marketing to Israel for the October 2008-April 2009 period. Its five-day packages are based on flights to Taba, Sinai and entrance to Israel via the Taba-Eilat border crossing.

Early in the summer of 2006, right before the outbreak of the Second Lebanon War, “Shishi,” a professional chef who inaugurated the Muscat restaurant at the Seaview Hotel, Rosh Pina among other dining establishments, opened “Levona Grove,” a tourist attraction and special events...

A pilot program testing automatic regulation of entrance at tourism sites using radio frequency identification (RFID) chips began this past winter at the Mt. Hermon ski site. (The chip transmits its contents only when the item in which it is embedded is in close proximity to a special electronic device that...

“Bau House,” a small museum dedicated to the works of Joseph Bau, one of Israel’s earliest caricaturists, has been operating for a number of years on Berdichevski Street, off Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv, in the space Bau used as his studio during his lifetime. The museum...

Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of the International Harp Contest, which has been staged in Israel every three years since 1959. The celebrations will open with a gala concert with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra on October 6, 2009 at the Mann...

Israel Ministry of Tourism Director General Shaul Zemach has directed the heads of various departments in the ministry - and especially the Development & Investments Administration, the Marketing Administration and the Tourism Product Administration - to take into account ministry plans to...

According to figures released by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics and the Israel Ministry of Tourism, more than 260,000 tourists entered Israel this past July, up 22 percent in comparison with the figure for July 2007 and 75 percent compared with the number of entries for July 2006.

Israel’s Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Agriculture plan to invest NIS 10 million (close to $3 million) this year, as part of a multi-annual program to develop rustic tourism projects, establishing tourism and infrastructure support in various rural parts of the country that will promote the...

Having taken up her position as Israel’s new Minister of Tourism recently (see EMTT #299), Ruhama Avraham-Balila has sent a letter to her Jordanian counterparts in Jordan and in the Palestinian Authority, Maha al-Khatib and Dr. Khuloud Daibes respectively. Relating to the fact...

The Investments Committee of the Ministry of Tourism has recommended that five new hotels be constructed: in Nazareth; Ma’alot; Haifa, and on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Development of these properties will be based on government subsidies totaling NIS 45 million (close to $13.5 million) while...

Base on recent talks between Shaul Zemach, director general of the Israel Ministry of Tourism, and the head of the Ministry of Interior’s Population, Immigration & Border Authority, prior to September 20, when the need for visas by Russian tourists to Israel will no longer exist, agreement was reached, Minister...

US Airways has decided to offer year-round daily service between Philadelphia and Tel Aviv. The Tempe, Arizona-based carrier said that it has applied to start service in July 2009, subject to consent by Israeli officials. The U.S. Department of Transportation has already granted its...

With tourism to Israel from North America at an all-time high and with Israel’s Ministry of Tourism investing in marketing in the United States as never before - to traditional markets as well as to others where promise can be seen - EMTT Jerusalem correspondent Amnon Lipzin visited New York ...

In cooperation with the Israel Accessibility Center, Israir has decided to adapt the seats of the three new Airbus 320 craft it will be receiving in 2010 so that they meet the needs of physically challenged passengers in sitting down and in getting out of them. The toilets too will be redesigned for the comfort...

A few weeks ago, El Al Israel Airlines took possession of the first of five 737-800 craft it has ordered - three to be purchased and two to be leased - and as soon as it arrived at Ben Gurion Airport, the new plane took off on its maiden flight to Kiev. The three planes to be purchased are based...

Iberia has increased capacity on two of its 14 weekly flights between Madrid and Tel Aviv, and since early September, it has been flying Airbus A340 craft on these two frequencies, on Mondays and Saturdays. The changeover to...

Changes are on tap for Arad, Israel’s city in the desert situated in the area between Beersheba and the Dead Sea, designed to enhance its standing as a tourism city for both Israelis and visitors from elsewhere in the world. “The city’s commercial center is being renovated...

Farther west along the Arad-Beersheba Road at the turnoff to Daragat, a five-kilometer road leads to this village, where two cousins, Jabbar and Nasr Abu-Hamad have developed a tourism program based on “Hospitality in a Cave.” “Our forefathers came to this area from...

A new 10-room boutique hotel overlooking the desert opened not long ago in Arad, in the outskirts of the city, adjacent to the city promenade, in an area where land has been set aside by the Municipality for three other small properties, each 10 to 20 rooms in size. “Yehelim is the plural of the...

The Association for Tourism Tel Aviv-Jaffa has drawn up plans to develop a new Visitors Center in the city’s Sarona district, the area of the city that was inhabited in the 19th century by German Templar settlers that came to the Holy Land as part of their religious beliefs in the Second Coming, to serve...

This coming November, for the fourth year in a row, Eilat will host its annual international underwater photography competition. Sponsors of the event include the Israel Ministry of Tourism, the Eilat Hotel Association, the Isrotel Hotel Chain, the Israir Group, the Municipality of Eilat, the Eilat...

The annual conference of the Israel Hotel Association will take place this coming November, and one of the issues under discussion will be sustainable tourism and the “greening” of hotels. Among other aspects of this important issue, visitors to the annual gathering will be treated to a video prepared...

In the culmination of a process that began late in 2006 and has been ongoing, a meeting between German public health officials and dermatologists, and Israel Ministry of Tourism officials, health tourism experts and representatives of the Dead Sea’s health tourism industry was held at the...

Margaret Morse passed away on Saturday morning August 16, at the age of 95. She was born on March 3, 1913, and was predeceased by her husband Bernard Morse. Through her company Margaret Morse Tours, Margaret was...

During this past July and August more than 2.5 million travelers - an all-time record number - passed through Ben Gurion International Airport, relates Kobi Mor, general manager of the Israel Airports...

According to figures released by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics and the Israel Ministry of Tourism, 240,000 tourists entered Israel this past June, up 45 percent in comparison with the figure for June 2007 and 39 percent compared with the number of entries for June 2006.

Within the framework of efforts by the Israel Ministry of Tourism to improve the services it offers to tourists, maps of Israel, Christian pilgrimage attractions, the cities of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Eilat, Tiberias and Netanya, all in English and showing the cities’ important tourism sites, can now...

A new report on service in Israel’s tourism industry has been prepared for the Israel Ministry of Tourism. Among its recommendations, to be implemented as a joint effort by the ministry in cooperation with local authorities and other groups: • Adopting uniform standards in certain areas and for...

Late in August the Israel Ministry of Tourism will embark on a new marketing campaign in Germany, based on a special budgetary allocation by the Ministry of Finance of NIS 10 million (nearly $3 million), to be used for marketing purposes in Euro bloc countries. As a result of this new ...

In cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism, the Israel Hotel Association organized a workshop late in July on the potential for tourism from Russia to Israel in the wake of the abolition of visas this coming September 21st for people from Russia that would like to visit Israel as tourists. Proceedings were held...

Based on the belief that business travelers seek an alternative to the often solitary lodging experience and inspired by the strong sense of community created by the world’s greatest parks, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts has developed an environmental concept based on park-like lobbies, which have...

At an investment of NIS 200,000, Eilat’s Herods Complex has opened its upgraded “Princes Club” children’s club. Located on the swimming pool level at the Herods Palace and close by it, it also welcomes children staying at the Herods Forum. The refurbished facility, which features parquet flooring, has been...

“The original owners/developers of this property spent ten years planning it, visiting and learning about chateaus in France and in Italy and adapting the experience they had amassed to the hotel of their dreams, which somehow they got permission to build in the Biria Forest in the Upper Galilee, not far from...

The Red Sea International Jazz Festival, which takes place during the last weekend in August in Eilat and is now in its 22nd year, will be held this year from 25-28 August. It will feature performances by 14 international ensembles and 11 Israeli groups - 150 artists and 40 performances over...

A new hotel has been approved for Jerusalem. It will be located in the neighborhood of the plot of land on which the new offices of Israel’s Prime Minister are to be constructed, in a part of the government compound between the Supreme Court and the Knesset (Parliament building). The 200-room...

Having started out little more than a decade ago as a domestic airline with flights between Eilat and Israel’s more northern regions, Israir has strengthened its position in the domestic market over the years. In addition, it now flies between Israel and 14 foreign destinations - “and in many of these...

According to figures released by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics and the Israel Ministry of Tourism, 300,000 tourists - the largest monthly number ever recorded - entered Israel this past May, up 60 percent in comparison with the figure for May 2007, up 57 percent compared with the number...

In cooperation with various banks (which are being selected by tender offers), the Israel Ministry of Tourism is in the process of establishing a new fund for the purpose of lending money to be used for upgrading and improving hotels in the country. The ministry anticipates that the project will become...

Two new redesigned rooms opened a while ago at the Rimonim Eilat, the former Neptune Hotel. The Floral Room, located on the fourth floor and targeting honeymoon couples in particular, has been redesigned in accordance with the personal...

About three years ago, 12 rustic-style “Chalets Deluxe” were inaugurated at Moshav Ramot, situated on a hill overlooking the eastern shores of the Sea of Galilee. These 12 units represented the first stage of a project by the company managing the resort village to build about 30 such luxury units, with the remaining...

Sheraton Israel has allocated $5.5 million for renovations this year in the hotels that it manages, says Haim Outmezguine, area manager for Sheraton Israel & general manager of the Sheraton Moriah Tel Aviv, “from $500,000 to more than $1.5 million for each of our five. We’re investing in just about ...

At a cost of about NIS 80 million (about $23 million), the Crowne Plaza Tel Aviv City Center, Africa Israel Hotels’ new business hotel situated in the Azrieli Center on 13 floors of the center’s Square Tower, opened early in June. “We opened with four floors only,” says General Manager Shai Asia, “and then we added...

In a move designed to facilitate communication between staff and hotel guests, all the employees at the Herods Complex Eilat that speak fluent English, French or Russian have been give flags pins of the U.K., France, or Russia for them to wear, in addition to their name tags. “French and Russian were...

Ever since undergoing renovations, and reopening in 2006 (see EMTT #279), the Golden Crown Hotel (the former Renaissance Nazareth), located at the entrance to Nazareth near the Mount of Precipice and overlooking the Jezreel Valley, has been developing its activities in the incoming tourism market. “Even though...

With the take-off of a Sky Airlines charter flight to Turkey from Terminal 1, the former main terminal at Ben Gurion International Airport, on the first day of July, the facility was reopened, if only temporarily. The terminal will stay open until the last day of October, when it will be shut down one again, to undergo...

In June 2008 a total of 941,004 international passengers on 7020 craft used Ben Gurion International Airport, higher by 15.4 percent than the number that did so in June 2007. The number of incoming passengers this past June was 464,384, a spokesperson for the Israel Airports Authority reports.

Based on an agreement between the Israel Ministry of Tourism and Oasis Tours, a tour operator based in Poland, weekly charter flights from Warsaw to Eilat (with return from Ben Gurion International Airport, Tel Aviv), are scheduled to begin in December 2008 and to continue until December the following year.

The New Israeli Shekel has been made a convertible currency on capital and money markets worldwide, after Israel was made an official member of the international currency clearing system operated by CLS Bank International. From now on, the Israeli currency is legal tender internationally, meaning...

On 2 September 2008, El Al will cancel its direct non-stop flights between Miami and Tel Aviv. For passengers interested in being ticketed on El Al, the airline is replacing its Miami-Tel Aviv non-stops with El Al/American Airlines code share flights. Passengers departing from Miami can travel to Israel..

A new entrance area and the ancient stronghold at the Arbel National Park & Nature Reserve, overlooking the Sea of Galilee, were inaugurated early this past April. The Arbel Cliffs are mentioned as a battle site in the Old Testament in the Book of Hosea and later by the historian Josephus Flavius, who...

The Um El Fahem Art Gallery, located in the Lower Galilee in the Arab city of Um El Fahem, made headlines both in Israel and all over the world 10 years ago when it staged an exhibition by Yoko Ono. Since then it has been consolidating its position as a bona fide art gallery and has drawn up plans to grow...

Ilan Shchori, a tourism editor with 30 years of experience focusing on Tel Aviv, as a lecturer, researcher and author of four books, has developed a series of “My Tel Aviv” tours offered in English as well as in Hebrew that he is marketing both as a regularly scheduled product on weekends, and also ad hoc...

The Israel Ministry of Tourism has launched a new tourism community on the Internet, where surfers can ask questions, receive answers and find information and tourism recommendations before they come to Israel and during their stay. The new site (http://community.goisrael.com) also...

According to figures released by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics and the Israel Ministry of Tourism, 290,000 tourism entries to Israel were recorded this past April, up 41 percent in comparison with the figure for April 2007, up 26 percent compared with the number of entries for April 2006 and similar...

Hilton Hotels Corporation and IPC Jerusalem Ltd. have jointly announced a management agreement they have signed which will introduce the first Waldorf=Astoria Collection hotel in Israel. To be known as The Palace Jerusalem - The Waldorf=Astoria Collection, the property, built on the site...

After acquiring the rights to the hotel earlier in the year, a group of local investors has signed an agreement with the owners of Nobu, including actor Robert De Niro and Chef Nobu Matsuhisa, to operate one of the first two Nobu Hotels anywhere in the world. The property is scheduled to open in the summer...

At the cost of about NIS 350,000 (more than $100,000), a new Children’s Club has been opened at the Sheraton Tiberias in time for the summer season. According to hotel General Manager Danny Alkalay, “Much effort and resources have been invested in creating an attractive facility and great emphasis...

In its capacity as a hotel a management company, Excalibur Consultations took over the management of Netanya’s Blue Bay Hotel this past March. Renovations of all the 116 rooms in the central building of the hotel had been completed last year, after the hotel’s “Garden Suites,” constructed in the area where...

After a delay of a couple of months, the Dan Hotel Corporation opened the Dan Boutique this past April. In 2007 the chain had purchased the property known as the Ariel Hotel, Jerusalem, which it closed for renovations in October. Located opposite Mt. Zion and the Old City walls, the Dan Boutique was opened...

The Harmony Hotel, the first totally new hotel to open in Jerusalem in nearly a decade, was launched by the Atlas Chain early in June, based on a 10-year management contract for the property. Built on an empty 2000 m² lot, the hotel is located on the pedestrian mall in the Nahlat Shiva area...

Hartan Hotels, consisting of the Havat Habaron and Eden Inn properties in Zichron Yaacov, are operating under bankruptcy, and the main creditor Bank Discount, which is also part owner of the hotels, is in the process of looking for a buyer, reports Hartan General Manager Doron David. A part of...

ILH, an association comprised of Israel’s independent youth hostels located, among other areas, in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Eilat, Haifa, Nazareth, Tiberias and by the Dead Sea, printed a directory of its member properties earlier in the year. Along with a list of participating hostels, the publication, in fold-out form, features...

Minister of Transport Shaul Mofaz has decided to appoint Israir as Israel’s second designated carrier on routes between Israel and both the U.K. and Rome. Arkia Airlines has been granted similar status on flights to and from Barcelona and Madrid and Sun d’Or was chosen as designated...

Not all that long ago it was rare to find an Israeli serving in a senior managerial position in a hotel or hotel chain abroad. In fact, most of the international chains with properties in the country were in the habit of bringing in foreign professionals to serve as their gm’s. However, this has changed in the last few...

Even though presently there are no direct passenger flights between South Korea and Israel, officials of the Civil Aviation Authority of both countries have signed a memorandum of understanding allowing a second designated carrier for each country on the route between Seoul and Tel Aviv. According to...

El Al Israel Airlines recently inaugurated a new premium class King David Lounge at Newark Liberty International Airport, located directly across from the El Al terminal inside the Newark Airport Marriot Hotel. Upon completing check-in at the El Al counters in Terminal B, premium class passengers are transported...

A total of 996,490 passengers on 8318 international and domestic flights passed through Ben Gurion International Airport in May 2008. International passenger traffic that month totaled 961,068 passengers, representing an increase of 19 percent compared to May 2007. There were 7388 flights...

According to a report published on the Israel news website YNET, Israeli cultural figures, including musicians, filmmakers and dancers, will take part in the World Outgames, an international sporting and cultural event to be held in Copenhagen Denmark in July and August 2008 to celebrate the talents...

The Israel Museum is presenting two major sections of the Great Isaiah Scroll - the most complete biblical Dead Sea Scroll document ever found and one of the world’s greatest archeological treasures - in a special installation in the Shrine of the Book, announces a spokesperson for the museum, offering...

A number of well-known recording artists will be performing in Israel this summer. To date, they include rapper Snoop Dogg, scheduled to perform in the Ramat Gan Stadium in mid September, former Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell and French electronic music duo Air. The U.S. band Blondie...

Minister of the Environment Gideon Ezra, who served as Israel Minister of Tourism between January 2004 and January 2005, has been named interim Minister of Tourism by the Israeli government, replacing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who has filled this position ever since the resignation...

According to partial statistics released by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, 226,700 tourism entries to Israel were recorded this past March, up 14 percent in comparison with the figure for March 2007 and up 24 percent over the March 2006 figure. Of the total number arriving this past...

Following the agreement signed by Russia and Israel late in March to abolish the need for visas for tourists from one country visiting the other (see EMTT #295) and the announcement by the Israel Ministry of Tourism earlier in the year that once an agreement with Russia is reached, the Ukraine would...

Based on expectations that tourism to Israel will increase significantly this coming summer, above and beyond the growth of 25 percent between 2006 and 2007 and the 44 percent increase during the first three months this year (as compared to figures for January-March 2007) and which was even...

The Israel Ministry of Tourism is introducing new and expanded “safety net” procedures designed to encourage international charter carriers to operate charter flight series to Israel this year. The new procedures have been formulated as added...

Ministry of Tourism Director General Shaul Zemach was in contact recently with the Minister of Tourism & Handicraft of Morocco Mohammed Boussaid, inviting him to visit Israel for discussions on ways to cooperate and to promote tourism jointly. One item on the agenda would be a proposal to promote a joint...

Africa Israel Hotels has signed an agreement to manage a new five-star-level business hotel in Ashdod, on the Mediterranean Sea, on the city’s southern shore. The property will be branded as the Crowne Plaza Ashdod, joining Africa Israel’s other Crowne Plaza property in Israel - in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Eilat...

At a cost of about $4.5 million, renovations and improvements have been completed at the Isrotel Dead Sea, the property which Isrotel purchased from Caesar Hotels about one year ago. All of the hotel’s 300 rooms have been outfitted with new...

When it opened nearly 10 years ago as Israel’s first integrative theme hotel, Herods Palace served as a stage for the “spirit of the palace,” a term it used to describe a legend it had developed that was played out from morning to night, with the staff bedecked in sharwhals and galabiyas and street theater...

The “Cielo Spa,” located on the lower level of the Sheraton Tel Aviv Hotel & Towers in space that until recently was used as a discotheque, is scheduled to open shortly. Among the partners in the new enterprise are Riki Opolsky, owner/manager of “Riki Spa” at the David InterContinental Hotel in Tel Aviv and...

Only a month ago (as reported in EMTT #295, p.16), the Israeli shekel was trading at a rate of slightly less than 3.5 to the dollar – as opposed to more than 4.7 to the dollar about 2.5 years ago. Since then it has continued to strengthen even more and now, as we are going to print, it has reached the level of 3.37, and no...

Based on a new agreement between Mini Israel and El Al Israel Airlines, passengers departing from Israel on El Al flights now have the option of early check-in at Mini Israel along with a visit to the Madurodam-style miniatures park prior to arrival for take-off at Ben Gurion International Airport. Early check-in at Mini Israel enables El Al passengers...

Holiday Lines, which has been involved in outgoing tourism activities in Israel for a number of years, began working in the incoming market too last year and is now looking to expand its operation in this field. “Since in any case, we operate our own charter flights for Israelis, we decided to use them as a basis...

“Our incoming business from Istanbul to Tel Aviv is a varied mix,” Turkish Airlines Director, Israel Atag?n Kutluy?ksel observes. “Along with passengers from third countries that fly to Israel with us via Turkey, it is comprised of Muslims that visit Jerusalem and members of Turkey’s Jewish community of 22,000 that travel to Israel routinely, annually, for festivals, family visits...

At a cost of nearly €600,000, the Israel Government Tourist Office, Paris has launched a new promotional campaign in France. Advertisements will be screened in cinemas in the country for the first time and will also appear in the printed general and professional media and on the Internet. The campaign is...

As of mid June Israir Airlines will begin operating two weekly flights between Tel Aviv and Moscow on Airbus A320 craft. Although the flights are designated as charter flights, they will be operated at set hours, a spokesperson for the airline emphasizes, adding that the basis for the new operation...

After months of negotiations and waiting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his counterpart from Israel Tsipi Livni finally signed an agreement in March that would abolish the need for tourists from Russia interested in visiting Israel to obtain visas (and for Israelis to visit Russia under...

According to figures released by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics and the Israel Ministry of Tourism, 200,000 tourism entries to Israel were recorded this past February, up 46 percent in comparison with the figure for February 2007 and up 35 percent over the February 2006 figure.

Following an agreement with the Israel Ministry of Tourism, Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi, pilgrimage tour operator for the Vatican, has begun a series of six weekly flights to Ben Gurion International from six cities in Italy: Rome; Verona; Brescia; Naples; Bergamo, and Sicily. Two of the flights...

“We need many more flights from Poland, something for which I have been clamoring for the past two years,” says Yehuda Shen, the Israel Ministry of Tourism’s director, Central & Southern Europe Department. “Tourism from Poland to Israel has been increasing at a very rapid pace these...

Having purchased Eilat’s Ambassador Hotel about two years ago, invested about NIS 6 million (nearly $1.7 million) in renovating its rooms and public areas and transforming it into a “quiet” hotel with no entertainment team (see EMTT #281) , the Isrotel Hotel Chain has rebranded the property as the Isrotel...

Approximately 10,000 tourists are expected to arrive in Tel Aviv and Eilat in 2008 and 2009, aboard 60 flights from Helsinki and Stockholm, following efforts by the Israel Ministry of Tourism to market Israel in Scandinavia, a ministry spokesperson has announced.

As reported in EMTT #291, three Eilat properties that are part of the Fattal Hotel Chain, were renovated these past three months. The Le M?ridien Eilat has been reopened as has the Golden Tulip Privilege Eilat, the property know previously as the Lev Hotel - and before that as the Paradise Club - and renovations...

A number of activities are in store for 2008 at the David InterContinental Tel Aviv, “designed to help the hotel maintain its position in the market as the city’s leading luxury property for both business travelers and holiday makers,” a spokesperson for the hotel reports.

“We see ourselves as a boutique hotel chain with unique properties and a loyal following, and our dream is to develop the company while maximizing service, maintaining the quality of our hotels, adding others both in Israel and abroad and, of course, improving our financial position,” states Reuven...

Opened 50 years ago on 20 acres of land as an Olympic Village to house Jewish athletes from all over the world that came to Israel to take part in the Olympic-style Maccabi Games, the Kfar Maccabiah Hotel, Ramat Gan, which has been operating in recent years as a four-star-level property...

Yoav Horowitz has been named general manager of Avis Israel. Horowitz, with more than 20 years of experience in Israel’s automotive industry, comes to Avis after working recently as head of his own company that offered services and advice to car companies. Earlier in his career...

Arie Ainy has taken over as manager of Kfar Maccabiah Hotel & Suites Ramat Gan. Ainy, who began his career in the hospitality industry with Israel’s Crowne Plaza & Holiday Inn Chain, where he held a variety of managerial positions, served as general manager of Mercure Suites Bat Yam before moving...

El Al Israel Airlines has announced its flight schedule for spring and summer 2008. As compared with the airline’s schedule for spring-summer 2007, the changes are: Los Angeles-Tel Aviv: from March and all through the summer, two additional weekly non-stop flights - for a total of...

The Nalaga'at Center, a new cultural and entertainment compound situated in a renovated hangar at the Old Jaffa Port in an area itself undergoing renovation in preparation for Tel Aviv’s 2009 centenary year, opened late last year as the home for the Nalaga'at Theater Company, which features an ensemble...

After falling to a representative rate of more than 4.7 to the dollar in November 2005, the Israeli shekel has been accelerating its upward revaluation in recent months, dropping to below 3.50 shekels to the dollar earlier in the year, remaining above that level for a number of weeks, thanks, in part, to the intervention...

The 14th International Mediterranean Tourism Market (IMTM) took place early in February at the Israel Trade Fairs & Convention Center, Tel Aviv. In addition to more than 200 suppliers from Israel, representatives from more than 40 foreign countries exhibited this year at IMTM, accounting together for the largest...

According to figures released by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics and the Israel Ministry of Tourism, this past January 182,000 tourism entries to Israel were recorded, up 57 percent in comparison with the 116,000 entries for January 2007 and up 34 percent over January 2006 figures. This was the best...

Early in February Israel and the European Union inked a memorandum of understanding on an agreement, as a preliminary step to signing a uniform aviation agreement between the two sides. Speaking after a meeting with EU delegates...

The Israel Ministry of Tourism has signed an agreement with Heritage Tours, a company in Albania, for the marketing of a seven-day tourism package to Israel. Israel has been involved in Albania for the last couple of months in cooperation with Heritage Tours, offering seminars in the larger cities, meeting with...

“Our marketing budget for 2008 stands at NIS 210 million [more than $58 million] right now, of which no more than NIS 10 million has been allocated for the domestic market,” says Oren Drori, senior deputy director general of the Israel Ministry of Tourism and director of its Marketing...

Late in 2006, the Israel Ministry of Tourism selected Infinity Concepts, a full-service marketing and consulting firm based in Pittsburg Pennsylvania, as its strategic marketing partner to develop programs that would reach more Christians in North America and attract them to visit Israel. Infinity Concepts is...

Acting late in January on a proposal by Minister of Transport & Road Safety Shaul Mofaz, the Israeli government approved the minister’s ”open skies” policy and has also decided to increase from 50 percent 80 percent its participation in the security costs of Israeli carriers. Within the framework of its approval...

As the result of a series of sales of hotels in Israel, reorganization has taken place that affects the properties that had been a part of two of the country’s chains of hotels, the former Sheraton Israel and the former Clal Accor chains. The new Azorim Hotels Management chain consists of the Moriah Classic...

With the completion of work last August that increased the size of the lobby of the Crowne Plaza Tel Aviv to the south, creating 190 m² of new space that is both an indoor lobby extension and an outdoor deck, the next stage of the Crowne Plaza Tel Aviv’s renovation program for 2008 and 2009 is about...

“Russia has become a very interesting market for us,” says Igal Zoref, director, sales division for the Dan Hotels Corporation. “My first visit to Moscow was in the early 1990’s, when I attended one of the first MITT travel fairs,” he recalls, “My impression then was ‘there’s nothing to look for here.’ However, when...

The Mt. Zion Hotel, Jerusalem has completed renovating all 132 rooms of the hotel. Along with the refurbishing work, which included painting the rooms, installing a new air-conditioning system and heating, adding night tables and headboards, and changing the beds and mattresses in some, all the rooms...

The Caesar Hotel Chain in Israel, with properties in Eilat, Tiberias and Jerusalem, has rebranded itself as “Caesar Premier Israel” and is in the process of investing NIS 21 million (nearly $5.8 million) in upgrading its hotels, reports Avi Ella, joint owner and managing director of the chain. “We enjoyed a very...

Improvements are being made at the Sharon Hotel Beach Resort, Herzliya, reports the hotel’s Director of Marketing & Sales Talia Yedid-Levy. On the outside events area adjacent to the lobby lounge, a wooden deck has been put down to replace the stone pavement and the pergola has been taken down, while in the lobby lounge itself the furniture has been changed. In addition, all the carpeting in the 170 rooms of the hotel and in its banquet halls has been replaced, LCD tv screens have been introduced in all the Sharon’s Bella Vista and Garden Rooms – about 40 in all – and a new hotel tv channel has started to operate, with information about the property complemented by films on Israel and the country’s attractions. Very soon, the infrastructure for wi-fi connectivity will be in place for the entire hotel.

“We haven’t been closed for even a minute during this upgrading process,” says Avi Sandberg, owner & general manager of Tiberias’ Astoria Hotel. “Nevertheless, we’re totally redoing the Astoria, a hotel my grandfather built nearly 80 years ago and which is one of the oldest properties in the city.” When Sandberg realized...

“About three years ago, around the time I started working here, when we were still known as the Park Plaza Jerusalem, we separated ourselves from the Park Plaza chain; early last year we changed our name to the Park,” recalls the hotel’s Sales & Marketing Manager David Szeinuk.

Having taken over as general manager of the Marina Hotel, Tel Aviv this past January (see p. 66), Rachael Goldberg has already instituted a number of changes in the property and has plans for additional improvements. “I know that this hotel has suffered for years from a bad reputation,” she says, “even though...

Tel Aviv’s old Savoy Hotel, south of Allenby Street and close by the Mediterranean Sea, has been gutted and is being rebuilt as a 56-room hotel on nine floors - two more than existed in the old Savoy property. Twenty-four rooms, on three floors of the new hotel, which will bear the same name as that which...

“After having finished the first stage of its renovations program about one year ago (see EMTT #283), the Alexander Hotel, Tel Aviv has continued to make improvements on the property. “We’ve increased the number of suites in our all-suite hotel from 48 to 52, by adding three units on the first floor...

Israel tour operator Nazarene Tours, headquartered in Nazareth, has signed a 15-year renewable lease on the rooms area of the East Jerusalem YMCA (located adjacent to the American Consulate and a short walk form the Garden Tomb and Damascus Gate), and after working for about a year to renovate...

The Gai Beach Hotel, situated in Tiberias on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, closed down for two months in the last week of December, for what hotel General Manager Ruti Oren terms a program of “significant renovations.” Carpeting was replaced throughout the entire hotel, while in the lobby...

In 2007, average occupancy levels at the Golden Walls Hotel - Tulip Inn Jerusalem (located in East Jerusalem opposite the Old City walls and near Damascus Gate), ran at between 55-60 percent. “That’s much better than in the past,” explains Fahmi Nashashibi, owner/general manager of the hotel, “but we had such...

The R2M Corporation, which has been managing restaurants in Tel Aviv for the past 14 years, is about to open its first hotel in the city, a property that is now in its final stages of development. Known as Hotel Montifiore, it is located on Montifiore Street in Tel Aviv, a part of Tel Aviv’s “White City” Bauhaus area and located in a building from 1921 that has been classified as a preserved building, which...

“We have two treatment rooms now,” says Shimon Kipnis, general manager of the Scots Hotel, Tiberias, which is owned by the Church of Scotland “but nowadays a spa is a necessity in a hotel such as ours, so we decided to build one, and it will be located in a building that is on our premises.”

Tourism to Israel: “2014 – How We Messed up” Relating to the fact that tourism is one of the world’s leading economic industries, with an average rate of annual growth of between four and five...

“For both volume and income, 2007 was a record year for us,” states Simon Wynick, general manager of Israel tour operator IGT, “and overall, I would say that we increased our business last year by about 45 percent.” One significant contributing factor to this growth was IGT’s agreement...

After working for many years with Israel tour operator Nazarene Tours, Dutch wholesaler Isropa became a part of the TUI conglomerate a number of years ago and as a result, its Israel operations were handled by Holiday Travel, TUI’s Israel representative. Recently Isropa became an independent identity once...

Expanding on a limited offer this past year for tourists from Germany, France and the U.K. that were granted a free full-day tour of Jerusalem based on their visit to Tel Aviv and a minimum stay at a participating hotel in the Tel Aviv region, the Tel Aviv Hotel Association has announced that...

The Jesus Trail, a new project initiated by Maoz Inon, who manages the Fauzi Inn in Nazareth, along with David Landis, is a 65-kilometer trail route that begins in Nazareth and passes through sites such as Sepphoris, Cana, the Horns of Hittim, the Arbel Cliffs, Tabgha, and Capernaum, culminating...

In cooperation with Israel tour operator Amiel Tours, Galgalil, a bikeriding operation in the North of Israel, has created “Velo Israel,” a GalGalil subsidiary that has started to offer bikeriding adventures in Israel for incoming tourists. “We’ve built programs based on bikeriding treks led by Israel’s best...

A new wing was inaugurated recently at the “Avenue” conference and banquets complex located in Airport City close by Ben Gurion International Airport. Constructed at a cost of about NIS 5 million, the additional facilities include five separate halls, from 107m² to 300 m² in size. A sixth new hall, measuring 1090 m² in size, is scheduled to open in April.

While breaking from tradition and not organizing a general Eilat Convention this winter season for agents and operators from all over Europe, the Eilat Hotel Association, in cooperation with the Israel Ministry of Tourism and El Al Israel Airlines, and with the assistance of Arkia Israeli Airlines...

This past February, Fokus Reisen from Norway, in cooperation with Arkia Israeli Airlines, organized a Saturday charter flight from Stavanger to Eilat. “It was only one of a number of flights we have scheduled this year between Norway and Tel Aviv,” company Director Rolf Sol?s reports. For Easter this year, two flights...

Based on a new agreement signed recently between the Israel Civil Aviation Authority and its counterpart in Belgium, Jetairfly (the former TUI Airlines Belgium), which earlier has announced its intention of inaugurating low-cost flights between Liege and Tel Aviv (see EMTT #290), has decided to operate...

The Israel Airports Authority (IAA) has issued a tender offer for the construction of a terminal at Ben Gurion International Airport, for the use of private planes. This facility is to be built adjacent to the old Terminal 1 on a 1000 m² plot of land. When completed, the terminal will be leased out to a private company, which will...

El Al Israel Airlines has ordered five additional craft for its fleet. Four are Boeing 737-800’s configured with 200 seats, which are to be used on short-haul flights. The total cost for the planes is about $194 million. Expectations are that the first will become part of the fleet this year and the other three in 2009.

Swiss has decided to change the aircraft it flies on its routes to Tel Aviv and will be using Airbus A340 craft to replace its A320 planes. As a result, a spokesperson says, the airline expects an annual increase of about 22 percent in the number of passengers it carries between Switzerland and Israel.

While the Israel Museum renews the exhibition space on its main campus, exhibitions based on works of art from the museum’s permanent collection will be mounted at Anna Ticho House, one of its satellite campuses, located in the Jerusalem city center.

Cruise Club Holidays/Steps of Paul Cruises, which specializes in organizing Christian pilgrimage cruises that enable people to “experience for themselves the places where the Apostle Paul lived, preached and suffered,” has scheduled a 10-day Easter cruise for March 2008 departing from Piraeus, Greece, that...

As we were going to press, “Israel our Home,” the political party to which Israel Minister of Tourism Yitzhak Aharonovitch belongs, announced that it was quitting the government of Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert over its objection to the government’s discussion of core issues in its...

According to figures released by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics and the Israel Ministry of Tourism, approximately 2.95 million tourists from abroad visited Israel in 2007. This was 25 percent more than in 2006 and 20 percent more than the figure for 2005. The total last year includes 200,000 that...

With Israel and Russia having agreed to the principle of reciprocity on the issue of the abolition of visas for tourists from one country that visit the other, paving the way for the signing of a formal agreement in the near future, the Israel Ministry of Tourism is looking to Romania, where the need for visas...

A new joint venture of the Israel Ministry of Tourism and the National Insurance Institute of Israel to make more sites in Israel accessible to physically challenged tourists is about to get underway. Within the framework of this project, budgeted at NIS 15 million over a three-year period, work will be done at...

“Surveys we’ve commissioned in Israel indicate that for a large percentage of the population, food is a significant factor in the way guests rate the satisfaction of their hotel stay, and we can also assume that give or take a few percentage points it plays an important role in the way our guests from abroad enjoy...

In cooperation with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor, the Isrotel Hotel Chain is in the process of renovating the King Solomon Promenade, situated between its King Solomon’s Palace and Lagoona hotels and the Eilat marina. As part of this process, all of the buildings fronting the promenade are...

Renovations are in progress at a number of kibbutz hotels. At the Kfar Giladi Kibbutz Hotel in the Upper Galilee 70 of the property’s 180 rooms are being refurbished, including 40 old accommodation units that haven’t been touched for a very long time and 30 others that were last worked on eight...

During November 2007 a total of 749,687 passengers on 6447 international and domestic flights passed through Ben Gurion International Airport. International passenger traffic in November totaled 709,135 passengers, representing an increase of 24 percent compared to...

Continuing its process of phasing out all of its “classical” rooms, the Sheraton Tel Aviv Hotel & Towers recently completed renovations to rooms on five floors of the property, transforming them all to “Club” standard accommodation facilities. In addition, it has inaugurated its new Club Lounge. This lounge, located...

Ayit Aviation & Tourism Services Ltd. has won a tender offer issued by the Israel Ministry of Transport to operate regular daily air services between Tel Aviv and Rosh Pina in the Upper Galilee. Ayit will begin operations soon with two daily flights...

As the result of a new aviation agreement signed recently by Israel and France, New Axis Airways, based in Marseilles, has been granted all necessary permits to begin low-cost flights between Marseilles and Tel Aviv. Flights, once a week every Sunday, began early in December on Boeing 737 craft.

A little more than one year ago Ari Marom left the Israel Ministry of Tourism to take up the position of vice president, marketing & sales, North America for Vered Hasharon. “Vered Hasharon had some business in North America before I arrived, but it was limited. The company’s main markets are...

Named “Holypass,” a new discount pass for entrance to sites in and around the Old City of Jerusalem, is being marketed in cooperation with the Jerusalem Tourism Authority and it has just gone on sale. The pass enables those holding it to gain access to a variety of different sites from among a roster...

In honor of Israel’s 60 Anniversary in 2008, Photo Tour Cup Israel 60, an Israel travel photos and video contest, is being sponsored by the Israel Incoming Tour Operators Association, the Israel Tourist and Travel Agents Association, the Israel Tour Guides Association, the Israel Nature & National Parks...

Just prior to the 26th Annual Conference of the Israel Association (IHA) that took place late last year in Jerusalem (see EMTT #292), the IHA published a series of updates on various aspects of the country’s hotel industry. Some edited excerpts from these reports were published in EMTT #291. Others follow below:

More than 30 foreign countries are expected to exhibit at IMTM 2008, the 14th International Mediterranean Tourism Market, which will take place on February 5-6, 2008 in Tel Aviv at the Israel Trade Fairs & Convention Center. Among them are: Austria; Belgium; Croatia; Cyprus; the Czech Republic; Georgia; Germany; Greece; Hungary; India; Italy; Morocco; Poland; Romania; Turkey; the Ukraine; Uzbekistan. In addition...

According to figures released by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics and the Israel Ministry of Tourism, 250,500 tourists entered Israel in October, the highest October figure since 2000 - an increase of 72 percent over the 145,500 visitors from abroad that arrived last October in the aftermath...

During WTM this past November, representatives of the Israel Ministry of Tourism held meetings with a number of large U.K. wholesalers and representatives of Thomas Cook, Cox & Kings and Page & Moy evinced interest in the Israel tourism product and in marketing it in 2008, a spokesperson for the...

Within the framework of its promotional activities for 2008, the Israel Ministry of Tourism will be placing increased emphasis on the French market, a ministry spokesperson says, so as to position Israel in the consciousness of the French tourist as a preferred close-by destination rich in...

In an effort to bolster tourism development in Israel’s Druze cities and villages, Minister of Tourism Yitzhak Aharonovitch has offered grants to 15 Druze entrepreneurs to construct 68 b&b accommodation units. At present there are 250 b&b units owned by members of the...

This past September the Israel Ministry of Tourism launched the second half of an advertising campaign in Russia at a total cost of about $1.2 million. It ran through November and included advertising in magazines, newspapers, and on billboards in Moscow, as well as on the Internet, and it also...

After being approved by Minister of Tourism Yitzhak Aharonovitch, the Government Tourism Corporation and the Ministry of Finance, the Israel Ministry of Tourism has allocated NIS 190 million as grant money for the development of between 2000-2500 new hotel rooms to be constructed...

The Ministry of Tourism and the Israel Lands Administration Authority have announced that a tender offer will be issued soon for the construction of a new hotel in the Ein Bokek area of the Dead Sea. Construction of the property, on about 20,000 m² of land (more than 215,000 sq, feet), would begin...

In preparation for marketing Israel for 2008, the 60th anniversary of the country’s independence, and meeting its goal of 2.8 million tourists next year, the Ministry of Tourism has decided to translate its website (www.goisrael.com) into a number of languages in which it has yet to appear. Recently, the French...

As one of the finishing stages of the hotel's complete renovation in recent years, the Inbal Jerusalem has opened its new Executive Lounge featuring, among other elements, a panoramic view of the Old City Located on the ninth floor of the hotel, where it is open from 7 am to late at night, the new...

Atlas Hotels has signed an agreement to rent a new 50-room hotel that is being built in Jerusalem in the city’s old Nahlat Shiva neighborhood at a cost of about $6 million. The property, which is scheduled to open next spring, is known as the Harmony Hotel. It is being constructed on an...

Africa Israel Hotels has listed incoming tourism from Russia as one of its major strategic marketing objectives for the 2007-2008 winter season. According to the chain’s General Manager Ariel Kappon, a growth in tourism from Russia to Africa Israel Hotels was recorded in the third quarter of 2007 as...

Work has been finished on the 27 rooms of the children-free “Club” floor of the Daniel Dead Sea (see EMTT #288), the ninth floor, of the hotel, and guests booking a room there are being treated to extras such as upgraded amenities, satin sheets, higher quality blankets and pillows, petite fours, fruit, bathrobes...

The application by BMI to be the second designated carrier from the U.K. to Israel (see EMTT #290) has been approved and the airline has announced that it will commence daily flights between Heathrow and Ben Gurion Airport on March 13, 2008. The flights, which will depart from...

Lufthansa, which currently operates flights to Israel from Frankfurt only, has requested permission from the civil aviation authorities in both Israel and Germany to operate regularly scheduled flights between Munich and Tel Aviv. Representatives of the two countries are...

El Al Israel Airlines has applied to the Israeli Ministry of Transportation for authorization to begin a codesharing agreement with American Airlines. Simultaneously, American Airlines has applied to the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). “Upon approval of the codesharing...

In cooperation with its Russian partner Intertour-Lux, Israel tour operator Diesenhaus-Unitours recently opened a representational office in Moscow. According to Diesenhaus-Unitours Vice President Commerce and Marketing Ofer Azoulay, “opening the new office in Moscow is part of our...

ICEPortal, Internet Content Exchange, which produces, custom-branded Internet content in many languages to a large number of websites, based on a variety of Service Level Agreements with many of the world’s major travel websites, recently signed an agreement with its first client...

Based on statistics presented to Ministry of Transport Director General Gideon Siterman, the number of regularly-scheduled flights to and from Israel by foreign airlines during the period between November 2007 and March 2008 will be higher by about 10 percent than the number recorded for the...

Hertz Israel has added 20 Honda Civic Hybrids to its fleet. According to the company’s General Manager Dani Shimoni, “Hertz Israel sees itself as part of the expanding ‘green’ trend, which has also been finding expression in the field of vehicles and transportation.” The decision to...

The 26th Annual Conference of the Israel Hotel Association (IHA) took place on November 20th at the ICC Jerusalem - International Convention Center. According to IHA President Eli Gonen, who was elected to serve an additional term, 2007 will have ended with 2.3 million tourists visiting Israel...

The Red Sea Sports Club (RSSC), owned and managed by the Isrotel chain, recently purchased four new Suzuki Gemini jeeps and it has begun a program to offer Isrotel hotel guests in Eilat the opportunity of driving jeeps by themselves as part of guided tours of the local desert that...

“The Ministry of Tourism has been investing effort in the creation of a “one-stop shop” to assist entrepreneurs interested in tourism development, with everything that they need. The “shop” is expected to be operational by January and it is being designed to offer swift, efficient solutions for all the...

“I’m pleased with the budget we have been allocated for 2008,” says Ministry of Tourism Director General Shaul Zemach - “not only with the sum, that looks as though it will be NIS 500 million [more than $125 million], but with the fact that it is being allocated as part of the approved...

The United Kingdom has been - and still is - one of the three main sources of traffic to Israel. We have been witnessing a steady growth in traffic from this market. The latest figures show that close to 125,000 tourists from the U.K. visited Israel during the first nine months of this year, and expectations...

In a joint venture sponsored by Israel's Ministry of Tourism, the Jerusalem Tourism Authority, Alrov Luxury Hotels and the Time Elevator Jerusalem, the Time Elevator’s simulator ride, which can hold 15-20 people per ride, will carry visitors to the Israel pavilion at WTM back in time and...

According to figures released by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics and the Israel Ministry of Tourism, 183,200 tourists entered Israel in September, an increase of 86 percent over the 98,700 visitors that arrived last September in the aftermath of the Second Lebanon War This figure...

A delegation of Jerusalem hoteliers headed by Jerusalem Hotel Association Secretary General Jonathan Harpaz and Eli Nachmias, director of overseas markets & tourism marketing for the Municipality of Jerusalem’s Tourism Authority traveled to the U.K. early in October, where they...

Late in September Israel took part in TT Warsaw, reports Yehuda Shen, director Central & Southern Europe Department for the Israel Ministry of Tourism. “Nine suppliers exhibited at our booth,” Shen says, “and while we were in Poland we also held a seminar for 130 local agents, where the...

In July 2007 the Dan Hotels Chain purchased the Jerusalem property that until then had been known as the Ariel Hotel, Jerusalem, which it closed down early in October, and which is now being renovated and upgraded prior to its reopening at the start of January 2008 as the Dan Gardens...

The Tulip Inn Galilee, managed by the Fattal chain, is closing down for three month - December, January and February; it is scheduled to reopen on March 1, 2008. “Originally, we had considered closing it for the entire winter, starting the first of October, but then we extended the season,” says the...

“World Travel Awards” has published its list of winners for 2007-8. The David InterContinental Tel Aviv was chosen as Israel’s Leading Hotel and Israel’s Leading Business Hotel and the Royal Suite in the hotel as the country’s Leading Suite. The Le M?ridien Dead Sea was selected...

Scandinavia is a veteran market for us,” says David Duvdevani, who is in charge of marketing and sales for the Kibbutz Hotel Chain (KHC). “Unfortunately, this market all but dried up during our recent years of crisis, beginning in 2000 - and not only for us. Some philo-Zionist pilgrimage movement...

The Dalia Hotel in Eilat, and the Armon Yam Hotel in Bat Yam, two properties represented and marketed by Moshe Ashkenazi, director of Or’chim, have been renovated recently. They join the Shalom Hotel and the Imperial Hotel, both in Tel Aviv and both marketed by Or’chim too, that were...

The Hilton Tel Aviv has embarked on a five-to-seven-year program of soft renovations for its corridors and 580 rooms and suites. New carpeting is being installed, room textiles changed and bed covers are being replaced by runners in all the rooms. As part of this project, the carpets...

Having closed down for two months at the beginning of 2007 for a wide-ranging program of improvements and renovations, the Vista Hotel, Eilat is ready to welcome tourists for the current winter season, reports hotel General Manager Avi Dahan. It has also published a new brochure in English...

Work has begun on upgrading 120 rooms on four more floors of the Carlton Hotel, Tel Aviv hotel, reports hotel General Manager Jimmy Zohar, and expectations are that the project will be completed by April next year. “We’ll be closing off a floor or even half a floor at a time, depending on occupancy...

“The Prima Tel Aviv is a small, intimate property with 56 rooms, so after completing renovations in August last year in the rooms and the lobby [see EMTT #280], we wanted to give it a special focus,” remarks Etty Levy, general manager of Prima Hotels, to which the hotel belongs. After considering a number...

“A new owner bought the hotel at the beginning 2006, his first in Israel, though we’re in talks to purchase others,” says Josh Avin, general manager of the Jerusalem Gate Hotel. “When I came aboard earlier this year we decided together that the property should be upgraded, so as to transform...

Group tourism to Israel rebounded after last summer’s Second Lebanon War quicker than anyone has forecast, says Ami Etgar, director general of the Israel Incoming Tour Operators Association (IITOA). “Let’s look at the numbers,” he remarks: “so far in 2007, Israel has...

“We’ve been growing stronger this year in the areas of Jewish and Christian tourism,” says Ronen Krumholtz, sales & marketing director for Diesenhaus Unitours. “Nevertheless, as part of the IDB conglomerate and its tourism conception, we have a responsibility to our clients...

This year as well, as part of a tradition that has been continuing for close to a decade, the Nikken Sohonsha Corporation held its annual incentive tour of Israel for its winning sales agents, in keeping with the promise made by company President Nabuo Mori, that each year Nikken would fly to Israel...

“We’re continuing to work will all segments of the incoming market - FIT’s, group and special groups” - reports Zeev Anolik, manager of the Incoming Department at Ophir Tours. “We have a lot of work from countries in Asia and the vicinity and our major markets today from this part of the world...

The Israel Ministry of Tourism has afforded recognition to “Desert Embroidery” and “Desert Weaving,” two unique projects by the Bedouin women in the Bedouin settlement of Lakiya near Beersheba, as tourist sites. The projects were established as part of a business initiative developed...

“There are a number of major challenges facing our area if we are really interested in attracting tourism,” admits Eran Doron, director of the Tourism Department of the Negev Highlands Regional Council. “One is a dearth of high-level zimmers and additional accommodation options and another is the...

After persevering for the past eight years, Gil Shevadron has received permission to begin constructing Shevadron Ranch, a facility in the Lahav Forest, north of Beersheba, which is to serve as an outdoor challenge center designed for the use of people with special needs, as well as for everyone else.

While it also has served clients in the North of Israel, such as the Golden Crown Hotel in Nazareth, the Kibbutz Dalia Guesthouse and Hamat Gader, Excalibur Consultation, which offers marketing and branding consultation services to tourism projects, both existing and those under planning or...

Located as part of the Nitzana Educational Village close by the Egyptian border, the Nitzana Educational Solar Park is an outdoor science museum that was started two years ago with the aim of teaching visitors to the desert how to adapt scientific principles to ecological desert uses and how to create...

“We came here in the 1980’s to live our life as part of the desert and as part of a small desert community,” recalls Ofer Har-Tuv, owner of Khan Beerotayim. “A few years later we began our involvement in tourism by offering donkey tours of the desert and at the same time we pitched our...

Tova Wald, a veteran organizer of adventure and outdoor tourism in Israel, has been busy these past few years organizing and running private family tours from New York Toronto and London primarily, and more recently with a developing...

One of a series of homesteads approved in the 1990’s by the Negev Highlands Regional Council, Shivta Farm, located adjacent to the old Nabatean city of Shivta, which was added not long ago to the UNESCO roster of World Heritage Sites, is looking to develop its tourism product. “We came here in 1996 and...

Work was completed recently on the expansion of Spa in the Desert, which was first built about seven years ago a short distance away from Kibbutz Mashabei Sade, on land belonging to the kibbutz “There was simply too much demand,” explains Spa Manager Ram Donnell. “At times we found ourselves...

Israir has launched direct once-weekly charter flight service from London to Eilat. The rotations are being operated on one of the airline’s Airbus 320-A craft. In addition, Israir will be operating three weekly flights this winter between London and Ben Gurion Airport. “We decided on these activities...

El Al has submitted a request to Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority for it to be granted designated carrier status on domestic routes in the country. “The airline would like to operate flights between Ben Gurion International Airport and both Eilat and Israel’s North,” said El Al President Haim Romano. “This would...

Late in October the Isrotel hotel chain began running a series of Sunday “Isrotel Sun Express” charter flights, from Paris to Eilat. The direct flights, on planes with a capacity to carry up to 212 passengers, are being operated in cooperation with Sun D’Or Airlines. They leave Charles de Gaulle International...

In a program scheduled to begin this coming November and run through March 2008, the Israel Ministry of Tourism has announced its intention to invest NIS 8.5 million (more than $2.1 million) in marketing Eilat in the U.K., France, Germany, Russia, Scandinavia and Holland. The program, which was prepared in cooperation with Eilat Municipality and the Eilat Hotel Association and will include advertising, a public relations campaign and participation in tourism fairs, has been designed to return Eilat as a tourism destination for foreign wholesalers and tour operators and it will offer what a ministry spokesperson terms “attractive tour packages,” complemented by activities on the part of the Israeli government to remove impediments that prevent expansion of direct air traffic to and from Eilat.

The Ministry of Tourism has reached agreements with four leading North American tour operators - American Express, Certified, Grand Circle and Travel Impressions - for them to market Israel vacation and sightseeing packages. Marketing efforts are scheduled to begin soon. Within the framework...

The Investments Center of the Israel Ministry of Tourism’s Government Tourism Organization, , headed by ministry Director General Shaul Zemach and comprised of representatives of the Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Finance, has approved assistance totaling NIS 42 million (nearly $9.5 million) for tourism projects...

“I took over management of the hotel this past February, after renovations had been completed and the property - the former Ein Bokek Hotel - was rebranded,” recalls Daniel Solomon, general manager of the Tulip Inn Dead Sea. “The hotel lobby and all the 96 rooms had been redone, including...

After embarking on a program of renovations at the four hotels of his chain at a cost of about NIS 32 million (approximately $8 million) and after the opening of the new spa at the Hacienda Forestview (see EMTT #287) , General Manager Shauli Dor has announced that the chain, known...

The Miguel Hotel & Bistro, a restaurant situated on Hayarkon Street in Tel Aviv, opposite the Mediterranean Sea with a three-floor, 17-room hotel adjacent to it, opened for business this past spring, reports Restaurant Manager Hagit Romano, who owns the property together with...

Within the framework of a far-ranging expansion project underway at the West Jerusalem International YMCA, the original landmark building in which its Three Arches Hotel is located is to be renovated. “There will be no changes to the facade,” reports Director General Norris...

El Al Israel Airline has inaugurated its new King David Lounges, located in Terminal 4 at JFK International Airport in New York. The new facilities for First and Platinum Business Class Lounges, along with the Bank Leumi Business Center, were established at a cost of $1 million...

Based on an agreement signed with the Israel Ministry of Tourism, ThomsonFly, a member of the TUI group, will initiate flights from the U. K. to Tel Aviv this coming November, starting with six flights a week to Israel in November from Manchester and from Luton Airport. According...

Belgian airline Jet Air, which is a member of the TUI group too, is also expected to operate “Low-Cost flights” to Tel Aviv in the coming months, joining TUIFly (from Germany), ThomsonFly and CorsairFly (from France) as TUI low-cost...

British carrier bmi has announced its intention to launch a daily nonstop flight next spring between London Heathrow and Tel Aviv. The addition of Tel Aviv to the airline’s mid haul network from Heathrow...

Following the successful completion of negotiations between Israel and the U. K. Israir has announced its intention of applying to be Israel’s second designated carrier on the route. According to...

Late this October, El Al will be adding a morning service on Mondays from Heathrow to its existing twice-daily schedule to Tel Aviv. “This is the first morning flight from London...

Sunair, a new airline company based at the Masada Airstrip opposite Masada, has been offering scenic flights over Masada, the Dead Sea and the adjacent desert area. In addition to the pilot, three passengers can be taken aboard each flight, and they are all given earphones by means...

As referred to in both EMTT #288 and 289, the Sixth Dead Sea International Marketing Weekend took place between September 6 and 9 in the area of the Dead Sea that is under the jurisdiction of the Tamar Regional Council. It was sponsored by the Tamar Regional Council, the Dead Sea...

Camel Lot, the Dead Sea area company based at Moshav Neot Hakikar and featuring Dead Sea donkey cart and camel rides among other offerings, has now started its fifth season of activities based on animal rides. The donkey carts can seat four - two adults and two...

The Caesarea Golf Club, Israel’s only 18-hole golf course to date, which opened in 1961, is undergoing renovations for the first time, with a budget of about $8 million allocated for the purpose of transforming it into a facility on an international level. Over the next 12-16 months the...

Based on the vision it has for tourism as one of its major economic linchpins, the Municipality of Haifa received a study earlier in the year that it had commissioned from Ernst & Young in cooperation with IPK International, with recommendations on what steps need to be implemented so as...

A new air lane for the use of civilian traffic was opened up late in July over Beersheba and Mitzpe Ramon, cutting the time needed by planes flying from Tel Aviv to Eilat from 50 to 40 minutes. Until now this lane was set aside for the exclusive use of Israel’s security forces.

Having added a new 35-room wing in 2004 to go along with its original complement of 20 rooms, the Agron Guest House, located in the Jerusalem city center, may be expanding further in the near future. Talks have begun to transform a plot of land within the compound on which the...

A majority of the members of Israel’s cabinet has voted in favor of a proposal by Minister of Tourism Yitzhak Aharonovitch to cancel the visa requirement for tourists visiting Israel from Russia. However, the cabinet also decided that this move would be conditional on Russian reciprocity in abolishing visa requirement for Israelis.

In the wake of a meeting held this past summer between Israel Minister of Tourism Yitzhak Aharonovitch and Father Cesare Atuire, head of the Vatican’s pilgrimage office Opera Romana Pelligrini, the ministry has developed a program designed to bring Christian youth to Israel on pilgrimage visits. Itineraries...

According to figures released by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics and the Israel Ministry of Tourism, 222,900 tourists entered Israel in August 207, an increase of 82 percent over the number of visitors arriving last August, when the Second Lebanon war was raging. This figure is also...

One of Israel four largest museums, the Eretz Israel Museum is located on about 50 acres of land in the Ramat Aviv district of Tel Aviv on the site of Tel Qasile, an archeological site from about 1200 BC that was built around a Philistine altar - where Israel’s very first archeological...

In mid September, at the start of the Jewish New Year 5768, EMTT met with Eli Gonen, president of the Israel Hotel Association, to hear about his assessment of the past year and his expectations for the year to come regarding incoming tourist to Israel and the state of the country’s hotel industry. The...

“Bat Yam is undergoing a revolution and one of the most important aspects of this change is its repositioning as a tourism city, using cultural events as a catalyst,” says Esty Zemler, director of Bat Yam’s Department of Development & Tourism. “When we began initiating these events...

“A decision was taken about eight years ago to develop and restore just about every facet of Jaffa, including tourism,” explains Gilad Peled, general director of Tel Aviv’s Jaffa Governance. “We’ve been working in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism’s Government Tourism Organization...

Over these the last two years Old Jaffa has been made much more tourism friendly,” says Yaron Klein, director general of the Old Jaffa Development Corporation (OJDC). “It is much cleaner, a new bus parking area has been added and even a new bronze statue of Andromeda...

Tel Aviv’s Atarim Square, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea in the part of the city between the Sheraton Moriah and the Carlton hotels, which opened as a commercial and tourism compound in 1975 on about 16,000 m², is slated for a total renovation, relates Itamar Shimoni, general...

Renovations are in progress at the Park Plaza Orchid Tel Aviv, the former Yamit Park Plaza Hotel, reports Avi Hormaro, general manager of Jordache Israel, parent company of Orchid Hotel Management, with the date for completion scheduled for some time in spring 2008. At the hotel, which...

“A number of years ago the Municipality of Tel Aviv offered certain hotels in the city the option of applying for permits to add addition floors to their properties,” recalls Leslie Adler, joint managing director of Atlas Hotels. “We were one of the few to take advantage of this offer. After going through...

Israel Minister of Tourism has appointed an inter-ministerial committee headed by his Director General Shaul Zemach and has charged it with responsibility for drawing up an emergency tourism marketing plan for Eilat for the coming winter season. The program, which is...

According to figures released by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics and the Israel Ministry of Tourism, 214,300 tourists entered Israel in July 2007, an increase of 43 percent over the 148,600 visitors arriving last July, during part of which the Second Lebanon war was raging. Of those...

Based on a joint project carried out by the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of the Interior in cooperation with Israel’s incoming tour operators, 24,355 foreign tourists entered Israel for one-day visits this year between February and July. The program was initiated after a preliminary investigation...

During a visit to Japan and South Korea by Israel Minister of Tourism Yitzhak Aharonovitch and Director General Shaul Zemach late in July, where, among other activities, they investigated the possibility of reopening a branch of the Israel Government Tourism Office on the Asian...

Jerusalem's American Colony Hotel has been accepted for membership in “The Leading Hotels of the World” (LHW). Among other members of LHW are London's Dorchester, the Ritz Paris, and New York's The Pierre. To achieve membership in LHW, hotels must meet 1500 standards...

The Church of Scotland, owner of the St. Andrew’s Guest House in Jerusalem, has decided to invest NIS 2.8 million (in excess of $660,000) in the upgrading of the 20-room property. The hotel has been closed for renovations and it is expected to reopen by late September. According to...

The Ein Kerem Hotel, situated in an area belonging to Hadassah Medical Center in the Ein Karem neighborhood of Jerusalem in the South of the city, opened recently. Geared to meeting the needs of new mothers, outpatients, the families of patients, hospital staff and professionals, as well...

Less than six inches square, a new alarm clock/radio with an array of functions is being placed in the Hilton hotels in Eilat and Tel Aviv next to the bed, following a decision by Hilton International to place it in all the rooms of its hotels worldwide. The clock features a set alarm feature, automatically...

2007: Six-Month Figures for Israel’s Hotels The Second Lebanon War, which interrupted the increase in tourism entries and hotel overnights that Israel had been experiencing during the first half of 2006, continued to exert a negative influence on incoming figures...

Sponsored by the Tamar Regional Council, the Dead Sea Hotel Association, the Israel Ministry of Tourism, El Al Israel Airlines and the Israel Nature and National Parks Protection Authority, the Sixth Dead Sea International Marketing Weekend will take place in the southern Dead Sea ...

“Guests staying at the hotel last December 31st and January 1st ate dinner at the Golden Tulip prepared by its chefs and breakfast at the Daniel Hotel the next day, for which our chefs were responsible,” recalls Lior Haimovitz, general manager of the Daniel Dead Sea, management of which...

A little more than 10 years ago, when people in our region were quite optimistic about regional cooperation - and on a tourism level as well - a number of interested developers purchased plots of land by the Dead Sea, on which they intended to develop resort hotels,” remarks Iris Sass-Kochavi, in charge...

A tender offered by the Israel Land Administration for an 11.5 acre plot of land in Tiberias on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, has been won by an Israeli real estate company which has decided to invest NIS 290 million (about $68 million) in the construction of a new 650-room...

Four years in the creation, a new museum was inaugurated this past May at Masada, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and site of ancient desert clifftop palaces and fortifications built by King Herod more than 2000 years ago at the eastern edge of the Judean Desert adjacent to and overlooking...

As mentioned in EMTT #283, improvements were carried out earlier in the year at the Crowne Plaza Dead Sea. Now, reports General Manager Nir Naimy, the treatment area has been enlarged and new spa treatments and packages are on offer. Among the new treatments are two...

Two years ago, when the Lot Hotel shut down for its annual renovations activities, all the rooms in the hotel were equipped with balconies (see EMTT #264). This coming January, when it shuts down once again for three weeks, renovations of the hotel spa, which was opened in 1997, will be the...

In response to visitors comments that late morning and afternoon visits to its exhibits, which are located outdoors, were uncomfortable at times due to the heat, especially during summer months, Mini Israel has announced that it has been successful in resolving the problem, a spokesperson...

ITS, the Israel specialist based in Manchester, U. K., is offering an educational tour to Israel, scheduled to take place between November 27 and December 4, 2007. The tour is designed for clergy, lay leaders and pilgrimage group leaders that intend to organize their own Israel...

With headquarters at Herzliya Airport, Chim-Nir, a company offering specialized flight services in Israel, has inaugurated a helicopter pad on the roof of the “round tower” that is a part of Tel Aviv’s Azrieli Center. The pad will operate within the framework of Chim-Nir’s Limo-Copter division and the company is targeting business clients, incoming tourists and couples interested in what it calls “a romantic experience.” The helicopters to be used are twin-engine craft capable of seating up to six passengers at a time.

As of August, El Al’s children’s menus on flights out of Israel and from most of its flights out of Europe on which hot food is served include meals by McDonalds. The meal, which must be ordered in advance, includes chicken nuggets, baked potato, fresh vegetables and...

A new Internet campaign has been launched inviting Jewish families from outside of Israel to celebrate their children's bar/bat mitzvah in Jerusalem. Sponsored by the Jerusalem Municipality and the Jerusalem Hotel Association, it addresses Jews from all over the world while specifically...

In cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism, the Jerusalem Municipality will be embarking shortly on a project to upgrade the look of the areas around the walls of the Old City. As part of this project, the cost of which is estimated to be about NIS nine million (more than $2.1 million), flora...

Sunorama has established a new department for the purpose of offering tourists from abroad, both groups and FIT’s, the opportunity of booking side trips to Jordan and Egypt (including Sinai too). “Since we know that many tourists visiting Israel are also interested is combining a visit to...

Hertz Israel has added 20 Honda Civic Hybrids to its fleet. According to the company’s General Manager Dani Shimoni, “Hertz Israel sees itself as part of the expanding ‘green’ trend, which has also been finding expression in the field of vehicles and transportation.” The decision...

Approval has been granted for a program developed by the Ministry of Tourism to assist in the construction of new hotels in the country. The total amount to be granted for building these new properties stands at NIS 24 million (approximately $60 million) for the period...

The Israel government’s Investments Center has granted approval for a Ministry of Tourism project for the construction of motel-style properties, mostly in non urban areas. Seven such motels have been approved in various regions so far - two in the Negev, two in the Golan...

The Renaissance Tel Aviv is in the process of installing the “ComCierge” system, designed to improve a guest’s stay at the hotel, a spokesperson for the Renaissance Tel Aviv says. The system, which works in any number of languages and can be accessed via...

Having assumed the position recently as director of the incoming sales department for the Fattal Hotel Chain, Michal Kafkafi admits that Eilat, where a large number of properties managed by the chain is located, is “problematic” for the...

In preparation for the current summer season the Isrotel chain has overhauled the entertainment concept for children in its hotels, reports Isrotel Managing Director Raffi Sadeh. “We believe that by keeping our young guests active all through the day in a creative, quality...

Late in July the Carlton Hotel, Tel Aviv inaugurated its “Carlton on the Beach” facility, an extension of the hotel in the direction of the Mediterranean Sea that it has leased for 10 years. “Carlton on the Beach” is comprised of a wooden deck complete with tables, chairs and...

Having been closed for a number of months in the wake of damages it suffered during the Second Lebanon War last summer, the Hacienda Forestview, located on nearly 18 acres of wooded land near the city of Ma’alot-Tarshisha in the Western Galilee, opened its...

The Vital Hotel opened a little more than two years ago, as part of the Weizman Center, a complex adjacent to the Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv, on 2.5 floors of the center’s tower. “We are right by the medical center, hotel co-Managing Director Natalie Hurvits...

During the month of June 2007 a total of 901,588 passengers on 7227 international and domestic flights passed through Ben Gurion International Airport. International passenger traffic in June totaled 861,809 passengers, representing an increase of 4.9 percent...

The Sheraton Tel Aviv Hotel & Towers has added additional Club rooms to its roster of accommodation units, and it is also in the process of opening a new Club Lounge, which should be ready some time in August, reports General Manager Jean-Louis Ripoche. “This is...

El Al Israel Airline will accept two new Boeing 777 aircraft later this summer, which it intends to place into service on its New York/Tel Aviv route. The first will fly from Seattle via JFK in New York nonstop to Israel on July 25th and the second will begin service the following month. The new...

In response to a growing demand for flights from France to Tel Aviv during the summer season, Sarah Tours, an Israel specialist based in France, has added new Air Mediterranee flights on Airbus A321 craft between Orly (Paris) and Ben Gurion International...

“Our company started in the early 1980’s when we were involved in operating charters from Israel and also in outgoing tourism,” says Felix Toker, vice president for East Europe & the CIS at Flying Carpet, a tour operator that deals today with the incoming markets for which...

All through this summer the Sergei Yard, the Jerusalem, branch of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, will be conducting guided tours in English through various neighborhoods in Jerusalem, based on topics related to the history of the city. Each Monday...

A new Israeli folklore show has begun entertaining tourists every Saturday evening at 9 pm at the Armon Hanatziv Promenade in Jerusalem, with the audience seated around tables. The 80-minute presentation, taking local history as its theme, from the immigration to...

The Kings City theme park in Eilat has opened a new amusement section for children - Noah's Ark. It features seven attractions including tunnels, mazes, slides, climbing wall and more. All of...

In keeping with the priorities decided upon for its 2007 marketing budget, based on the recommendations of the report on tourism for Israel prepared for the ministry by Ernst & Young (see EMTT #284), the Israel Ministry of Tourism is embarking late in June on an promotional campaign in North America, targeting a number of specific market segments...

The Holiday Inn Haifa Bayview is in line for improvement and change prior to its being transformed into a five-star-standard hotel and rebranded as the Crowne Plaza Haifa. New meeting rooms will be built in the hotel, which will maintain its clear focus as a business property, a spokesperson for the hotel says, and the old meeting rooms will be completely

Now under construction after having been delayed for a number of years, the Alrov Mamilla Jerusalem Hotel is scheduled to open in mid 2008 as part of a $400 million hotel, luxury dwelling and upmarket shopping promenade complex. The first shops were opened late in May, accompanied by a reception for thousands of invitees The complex, located...

In preparation for the summer season, the Daniel Herzliya has completed a total renovation of its pool area, which has reopened for the use of guests of the Daniel and those of its Shizen boutique spa “hotel-within-a-hotel.” The entire pool area has been redesigned in the style of a deck of an ocean liner and it has been decorated with sail-like...

In cooperation with the Israel Ministry of Tourism, the Greater Tel Aviv Hotel Association and the Association for Tourism Tel Aviv-Jaffa held their annual marketing workshops for agents and decision makers in London and Paris in late April and early in May, with the annual workshops for Germany scheduled for June. “These workshops...

“Jerusalem is a city with a wealth of cultural opportunities, but the cultural tourism market in the city is very fragmented, and even though the vast majority of foreign visitors to Israel spend time in Jerusalem, most of them - maybe even 95 percent - take part in no cultural activities during their stay,” says entrepreneur and Jerusalem Councilman Nir Barkat. “Tourists...

“We were smart enough a few years ago to see that our traditional incoming business, Eilat winter sun tourism and sightseeing tours, was drying up, and while we certainly did not stop working to generate business from these market segments, we also started to develop faith-oriented tourism to a much larger degree,” says Amiel...

According to international market research firm Dun and Bradstreet (D&B), the Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem (the Tisch Family Zoological Gardens) was the most popular tourist site in Israel in 2006. It was the second consecutive first place finish for the zoo, which recording a 24 percent increase in the number of visitors compared to the previous...

Having left the company for a break that lasted about two and a half years, Dani Shimoni returned as general manager of Hertz Israel late in 2006. “Right now, our major priority as far as the incoming market is concerned, is to deepen our contacts and connections with incoming agents,” Shimoni says. “Both Ariel Toval, our leisure sales manager, and Vered...

This summer Hooters, the restaurant chain based in the United States that has developed a reputation for scantily-dressed young waitresses serving spicy chicken wings, sandwiches, seafood and drinks, plans to open its first branch in Israel. It will be located in Tel Aviv. “I strongly believe that the Hooters concept is something that Israelis are looking...

Gania, a new site for workshops, opened last year, situated on the shores of the Sea of Galilee where it flows into the Jordan River, on land belonging to Kibbutz Degania A, reports Gania’s initiator Dani Greenblatt. “We host groups passing by that want to take a break on the shores of the sea, with various options ranging from tea and snacks, to full...

Arkia Israeli Airlines has added Tuesdays to the days of the week on which it operates flights between Haifa and Eilat. Until recently the flights were operated four days a week - Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Since 2004, I. Y. S. Tours has been in business in the Judean Hills region, both as a travel agent and as a jeep operator, relates Yaron Nakash, the company co-owner and manager. “We offer a wide range of jeep tours, both close to our home base and all over the country, from two hours to a number of days in length, with most of the tours based on...

El Al Israel Airline has introduced a personalized check-in service for all of its flights departing from Ben Gurion International Airport, Israel, a spokesperson for the airline reports. As part of this service, a member of the El Al ground staff and a security representative will come directly to the passengers’ home, hotel, office, or other venue of choice...

With just about each year that passes, the number of flights decreases that brings tourists from Europe to Eilat to spend their winter holiday there in the sun. Where once, not so long ago, dozens of charter flights landed in the city each week from a variety of European destinations, the number

“Even though there’s a new Minister of Tourism and Shaul Zemach has replaced Nahum Itzkowitz as director general of the ministry, both Zemach and Minister of Tourism Yitzhak Aharonovich have accepted the recommendations of the Ernst & Young report to which their predecessors had given approval, as well as the Ministry of Tourism’s marketing plan for 2007,” reveals...

A committee set up a few months ago by Israel Minister of Transport Shaul Mofaz and headed by the ministry’s Director General Gideon Siterman has submitted its report, recommending unlimited airline competition, implementation of which would necessitate revocation of El Al’s monopoly

Delta Airlines, which now offers daily non-stop service between Atlanta (Georgia) and Tel Aviv, has announced the renewal of daily non-stop service between JKF, New York and Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv starting in March 2008. According to the airline’s Vice President for

Work being carried out to adapt the old Terminal 1 at Ben Gurion International Airport for handling domestic flights, has been completed, leading the way to the demolition of Terminal 2 with the intention of turning the area on which it stood into an operational site for a new freight

Early in May the Isrotel Chain took over ownership and management of the property known as the Caesar Premier Hotel Dead Sea, (see EMTT #282), rebranding it as the Isrotel Dead Sea Resort & Spa Hotel. It is the first Dead Sea property for the chain, which also manages hotels in

“You won’t find any marble here, or even much iron; we prefer stone and wood - along with the quiet serenity of a hotel situated in a nature reserve between tributaries of the Jordan River and among natural springs, in a part of Israel known as the Land of Streams, surrounded

For nearly 30 years Benny Benjamin has been owner of Triple S Travel, a local travel agent based in Rehovoth and representative of car rental companies at various times. Since 2001 he has also owned and managed RT&T Travel, and these past six years he has been working

With ceremonies and events that began on the eve of Jerusalem Day in mid May, the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the unification of Jerusalem was launched, featuring a plethora of special events that are part of a program scheduled to run for more than

As the next stage in the development of its accommodation offerings, the Ramot Resort Hotel, located on a hill east of the Sea of Galilee and overlooking the sea, has inaugurated 18 new wooden cabins. “When we finished work nearly two years ago on 12 deluxe chalets, each

As one of his last acts before moving over to head Israel’s Ministry of Welfare, outgoing Minister of Tourism Isaac Herzog, in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance, gave his approval to a new economic model for investments in tourism infrastructure.

Fattal Hotels has purchased Eilat’s Palmira Hotel, which it will also manage. With this acquisition, the chain now manages five properties in Eilat. The Palmira, which has 250 rooms including 40 in a new wing that opened about nine months ago, enjoyed an...

The Nina Suites Hotel, a small new property, opened in Tel Aviv’s Neve Tzedek neighborhood last spring as an extension of Nina’s Caf?, which has operated there since 2002.

“We serve three major markets,” says Avi Alon, general manager of the Dan Caesarea: “resort; business, and sports and congresses. As far as the first is concerned, we’re situated on 15 acres of land, with a large swimming pool and a spa that we’re thinking of expanding.

Jerusalem Gate Hotel Josh Avin has been selected to serve as general manager of the Jerusalem Gate Hotel. Avin, a veteran of Israel’s hospitality industry, holds a degree in Hotel Management from...

As part of its efforts to strengthen its foothold in the French market (see EMTT #280), Hertz Israel has started to offer car rental contracts translated into French. These contracts are available at all Hertz branch offices throughout Israel. According to Hertz...

Avis Israel has completed a project to upgrade the designation of the vehicles that comprise its car rental fleet. Within the framework of this project, a spokesperson for the company says, the catalogue of vehicles has been redone so that fuller correlation exists...

Sabra Tours, a Swedish tour operator specializing in Israel, has begun a 33-week series of “Sabra Express” flights to Israel from Stockholm. For the present, a spokesperson for the Israel Ministry of Tourism says, the flights will run through October. To help with its marketing efforts for these...

Based on Wednesday departures from either JFK International Airport, New York or Liberty International Airport, Newark and hb accommodations, El Al Israel Airlines is offering seven-night Holyland packages that include daily tours to what an airline spokesperson terms some of “the most significant...

In a project designed to encourage visitors to the Old City of Jerusalem to tour more than the Jewish Quarter alone, the Jewish Quarter Development Company (JQDC) is planning to create a rooftop promenade linking this area of the Old City to the Muslim Quarter. Access to rooftops exists in both the...

In a joint project to be funded by the Israel Government Tourism Corporation, the Tiberias Hotel Association, the Jewish National Fund and local regional councils in the Sea of Galilee region, plans have been drawn up to establish bicycle paths around the sea. According to Avi Sandberg, chairman...

Presided over by Chef Oren Yerushalmi, who returned to Israel earlier in the year after working in New York City in the kitchens of restaurants such as Bouley and WD-50, Scala, the David Citadel’s new gourmet chef’s restaurant, opened recently on the restaurants level of the hotel, in space occupied...

In a change of policy, the Israel Ministry of Tourism and the Israel Lands Authority have agreed to market land in Eilat’s eastern lagoon district, close by the city promenade, for tourism purposes. The 165 acres of land under question will be put on offer for the purpose of hotel construction in the...

The Jerusalem Trail, a 24-kilometer path connecting Jerusalem with the Israel Trail - an 850-kilometer trekking route stretching from Kibbutz Dan in the North to Eilat in the South - was inaugurated late last year by Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski. The path is a joint venture of the Municipality...

After having renovated its Shrine of the Book compound and then transferring the model of Second-Temple Jerusalem to its new premises (see EMTT #275), the Israel Museum, Jerusalem has embarked on an $80-million program to transform and unify all the facilities on its campus. This multi-year...

The City of David has introduced regularly scheduled tours of the site on two-wheeler, self-balancing Segway electric scooters. The tours take place daily at 10:30 am, and a 1:30 pm tour is also offered Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. The Segways are available for visitors 18 years or older...

As referred to in the Jerusalem Supplement appended to EMTT #281, ground was broken late last year for the multi-million dollar Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein National Campus for the Archeology of Israel, which is being constructed on 20,000 m² of land opposite the Knesset - between the Israel Museum...

Ron Yariv has been appointed general manager of the Crowne Plaza City Center, Tel Aviv. Yariv, who for many years worked with Hilton Israel and Hilton International, including stints as general manager...