New Ministry of Health guidelines are expected to delay the outbreak of the Corona virus, but also harm the Israeli economy, with emphasis on the tourism industry • Approximately 50,000 Israelis are expected to stay in solitary confinement • President of the Manufacturers Association: "The extreme reaction will cause irreparable damage and damage Israeli reputation"

• "Irreversible damage to the tourism industry." Ben Gurion Airport // Photo: Reuters

A few hours after the announcements by El Al CEO Gonen Ussishkin and Ronen Karso, CEO of ISTA, who clarified the seriousness of tourism and aviation in Israel - came the message announcing one of the most difficult news for the industry - anyone returning from Germany, France, Switzerland, Spain and Austria Will have to go into isolation for two weeks and anyone who is not Israeli will not be able to enter the country, much like a decision made to non-Israeli people who have visited Italy, Japan, China, Thailand, Hong Kong and other countries where the rate of infection with the Corona virus is high.

These decisions, in effect, mean the closure of the Israeli sky for tourists. Foreign nationals will not be able to reach us from Europe or Asia, and Israelis will not fly to these very popular destinations - and we are already likely to see a tens of percent decline in the sky's movement in Israel very soon. It should be noted that the Ministry of Health's measures are one of the most extreme in dealing with the Corona virus in the world - measures that have often proven themselves, but nevertheless, have caused serious harm to the tourism and aviation industry in Israel.

Another impact that is expected to occur following the announcement is the flight to South, North and Central America, areas that are currently unaffected by the spread of the virus. Many Israelis fly to the same destinations through European countries, a fact that significantly lowers flight prices and allows for a wide range of options to reach many destinations in the region. Soon, with the expected drop in flights to mainland Europe, we may also see an impact on flights to these destinations.

Lufthansa landed a quarter of its fleet

Benny Yunovich, CEO of Arbitrip Business Travel Platform, told Israel Today about hotel prices across Europe: "Hotels are tightening cancellation policies and it's becoming increasingly difficult to save booked room deals. In its industry, tourism is getting a snapshot of the only way for hotels to make a living these days is the cancellation fees for existing reservations. "

At the same time, Lufthansa said it was landing about 150 aircraft, which account for about a quarter of its fleet. More companies have already landed a large portion of their aircraft fleet and right now, with talks with senior industry officials, the forecasts are pretty pessimistic.

"Deleting more than half of tourism from Europe"

At the same time, the President of the Hotel Association, CPA Amir Chaik warned about the damage to the tourism industry due to recent health ministry measures. "Europe is the continent, with the highest number of arrivals to Israel, amounting to about 2.5 million tourists a year, about 56% of all arrivals to Israel." He said, "The countries for which a gate closure order has been issued (Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland and Austria) in addition to Italy already announced constitute about 42% of total arrivals from Europe."

"The entry ban of tourists from these countries will result in serious harm to all tourism from Europe as well as tourism coming through (flights) - and to deleting more than half of the tourism entering the country.

"Israel's hoteliers are not health experts, but they conduct business in a country that is supposed to be tidy. Activity without transparency and uncertainty, which is apparently rooted in hysteria, is without prejudice to businesses in which billions of shekels have been invested, including our guests, our employees and the state's income."

"We do not intend to intervene in public health considerations, but to the extent that the actions derived from these considerations will have significant effects on the state of the hotels in Israel, we will ask that the hotels be compensated immediately for this harm. The government must take into account that the destruction that one of the main growth engines has caused in recent years Of the economy, will be almost impossible. As well as correcting our image in the world after Israel's extreme reaction to tourism, compared to other countries. We warn that these decisions are degrading the industry to an irreversible situation, "he told Israel Today.