The Ministry of Tourism and the private tourism industry will invest NIS 100 million in an emergency programme to extricate tourism from its current crisis. This was decided on today by Ministry of Tourism chiefs and the tourism industry’s liaison bureau at the end of a special emergency conference on the crisis in the tourism sector.
The programme combines for the first time funds allocated by private concerns in the industry - hoteliers, incoming tourism agencies, and others - with funds allocated by El Al, and government funds from the Ministry of Tourism.
Tourism from Germany fell 20% in the period January to March 1997. Over the rest of the summer and in the autumn-winter 1998 the decline in the number of tourists is expected to continue without significant recovery, the emergency conference in Tel Aviv was told today.
Participants at the conference included senior Ministry of Tourism officials, the management of the Israel Hotel Association, the incoming tourism organisers bureau, El Al chiefs, and some of the representatives of El Al and the Ministry of Tourism in various countries in Europe and North America, among them representatives from Germany, France, and Britain.
Tourism form France and Britain fell more moderately last winter, but tourism from these countries too is not expected to recover. Tourism from North America fell 21% in the period January to March 1997 compared with the same period last year, which was considered a record period because of the increased number of tourists coming from North America. In comparison with the period January to March 1995, the decline is 12%.
Some of the Ministry of Tourism and El Al representatives claimed that they are working against unsympathetic media and Israel’s negative image. They believe that only massive marketing and advertising campaigns will save Israel’s tourist industry.