Israel Incoming Tourism Association: Tourism loses $150 million

Mr. Ami Etgar, head of the Israel Incoming Tourism Association,said last week that Israel has lost about $150 millions in tourism revenues since the war started in mid July

It is understood that about 1.5 million tourists had been expected to arrive in some 50,000 groups, between July 2006 and December 2007. According to Etgar the present expectations are now for only half that number.

The Incoming Tourism Association compiled these loss figures for its upcoming annual meeting, to be held next month in Haifa, instead of Tel Aviv. The decision to move the meeting to Haifa was in solidarity with those hurt by the recent war.

Israel Hotels Association director general Tova Pinto said last week that the war in Lebanon ended almost 39 continuous months of growth, which began in April 2003, in Israel’s tourism industry.
 
She added that all the existing signs pointed at a start of another crisis in the industry.
According to figures published by the Hotel Association, tourist overnights at hotels rose until the outbreak of the war on July 12, but subsequently fell by 20%, compared with July 2005.