Israel’s cabinet today approved a NIS 150 million aid package for Israel’s incoming tourist industry including for tour guides and incoming travel organizers, hit by the government decision to reclose the country’s borders after the Omicron variant outbreak. The aid package, brought before the cabinet by Minister of Finance Avigdor Liberman and Minister of Tourism Yoel Razvozov, details the amounts and target groups for the assistance, as part of a cabinet decision to provide NIS 300 million annually to industries harmed by the Covid pandemic.
Further to last week’s cabinet decision to compensate tour guides, NIS 25 million will be allocated for subsidized tours for the public. In addition, tour guides and others in the tourism industry will be eligible for NIS 10,000 scholarships for Ministry of Economy and Industry professional retraining programs.
The cabinet also approved grants for incoming travel agencies and organizers for "maintaining offices" providing they meet three criteria: Annual 2019 revenue was over NIS 2 million; revenue has fallen at least 80% from the corresponding period of 2019; and there has been an 80% fall in activity compared with 2019. NIS 30 million has been allocated for incoming tourism agencies and organizers.
A further NIS 30 million will be granted by the Ministry of Tourism for a marketing fund for incoming tourist agencies and organizers between March 2022 and April 2023. The funds will be designated for promoting tourism after Covid and assisting in the recovery of Israel’s tourist industry. The cabinet decision also details the extension of work permits for foreign workers from Jordan workers in hotels and hostels in Eilat.
The cabinet decision also allows the Ministers of Finance and Tourism to provide assistance for an additional three months, if restrictions that harm the incoming tourism industry are extended for the first quarter of 2022. This is likely due to pessimistic forecasts about the spread of the Omicron variant and the introduction of additional restrictions, including a potential lockdown to combat the fifth wave.
The assistance package does not include tourist agencies for outgoing tourism even though they are demanding aid following the restrictions introduced earlier this month on travel abroad.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 26, 2021.
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