This is what the hotel association estimates • Airlines cancel thousands of flights, resorts and hotels close: "one-year losses" • If the crisis continues, about 10,000 workers will be laid off in the industry

• Crisis tourism industry // Archive photo: Coco

The last few weeks are the most difficult in the aviation and tourism industry in the history of the State of Israel. Big companies are closing branches and laying off workers, hotels are closing, and quite a few companies are spending free holidays.

Thousands of workers in the industry find themselves in financial difficulties, and according to the rate of expansion - it does not appear that it is going to end any time soon.

The numbers around the huge damages are even more worrying. The "Israel Today" test shows that El Al has canceled more than 800 flights following the spread of the virus, will fly about 200 and shoot a little less than 100.

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El Al is expected to lay off and take about 80% of its employees, who are about 5,000 of the company's employees, and more than 500 pilots, without pay. In El Al's latest report to the stock exchange, the company posted a $ 160 million drop in revenues, even before the decision to quarantine anyone entering Israel from any country abroad. The Israel Hotel Association says the damage to Israel's hotels due to the Corona epidemic is estimated to lose about $ 1 billion in revenue On average, NIS per month is due to the closure of hundreds of hotels, ISA expenditure and the dismissal of most of the industry's employees.

The tourism companies are trying to cope with the situation, and we are also seeing a wave of layoffs and holiday spending free of charge. In Ishta, all branches were closed, workers were taken on vacations for free, and work moved down and part-time work from home.

The damage expected to the company so far is about NIS 15 million. Mona Torres has spent about 90% of the workers on vacation, and its damage is estimated at $ 4 million. Ophir Tours also reduces its branches in Israel and takes out workers for free holidays, and there too, quite a few employees received letters of dismissal. Geographically, about two-thirds of the employees in the company spent a vacation without pay, and the estimated damage to the company is currently NIS 8-6 million.

All companies report individual bookings per day, if any, in the tourism industry course, and in conversation with senior industry officials they report that "if the matter is over in the next month, we will be more or less damaged for a full year. If it goes beyond that - everything will just collapse completely."

The hotel association reports that so far, there has been a very significant drop in demand for hotels in Israel, even before the order requiring insulation for all returnees from abroad: Tel Aviv has 25% occupancy, Jerusalem 25%, Netanya 30% 25%, in Haifa - 25%, around Kinneret, about 30%, in Nazareth, six out of ten hotels are closed, in Eilat the occupancy rate is about 40% and the Dead Sea is 50% -40%. " 10,000 workers and another 5,000 contract workers and spending 10,000 more workers on unpaid vacations, "the hotel association said. Probably, quite a few hotels will soon be closed, at least until the end of the difficult period in the industry.

According to the Director General of the Ministry of Tourism, Amir Halevy, "We in the tourism industry are studying crises and know how to deal with them. We are currently formulating an aid package that will cover the entire tourism industry. In recent years, record highs have been broken in tourist arrivals to the country, and we are coming to this crisis with a lot of experience to succeed and be ready for the day after. "