Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed a plan to support the tourist city following the Corona crisis, and expressed hope that we would "move Tiberias forward"

• The promenade in Tiberias. Comprehensive tourism development plan in the city

  Photo: 

  Gil Elijah - Ginny

Government approved: NIS 50 million will be allocated to encourage tourism in Tiberias. At the opening of the Cabinet meeting, in which his proposal was approved to allocate the amount in question to the northern city, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: And it will encourage both the economy and tourism. "

The plan, which was led by the Prime Minister's Office together with the Ministry of Interior, Tourism, Economy and Industry and the Negev and Galilee Development, includes a series of steps, most notably grants for the construction and expansion of NIS 20 million.

According to a statement from the PM's office: "The purpose of the administrative grants is to encourage entrepreneurs to build new hotels in the city, or alternatively to convert existing buildings into hotels. The establishment of new hotels in the city will improve and diversify the tourism product throughout the region, including the entry of concept hotels, tourist hotels, popular hotels and hostels, as well as the development of attractions and entry of national and international networks. The projects will promote competition in the tourism industry in the city, which will encourage the improvement of services, investment in quality maintenance and room upgrades. "

Another step is to develop a master plan for tourism for the development of the city of Tiberias, with 90 percent funding of professional consulting hours in marketing, economics and more. The plan also includes rehabilitation, upgrading and adapting the Tiberium project for 2020 in the amount of NIS 5 million, upgrading the infrastructure, cleaning and maintenance in the NIS 6 million tourism areas in the city, and establishing a municipal tourism unit for the editing of cultural events, branding and marketing. Of NIS 15 million.

Another section of the program relates to aid for small and medium-sized businesses affected by the Corona crisis at a cost of NIS 1.9 million.

"Small and medium businesses, as well as the entire business sector, have been hit by the outbreak of the Corona virus," the statement said. "However, when it comes to a tourist city like Tiberias, the degree of harm is greater and more businesses need to be supported and more in-depth. Therefore, a dedicated budget will be allocated to reinforce the Agency's overall operation for assisting these businesses."

Approved to bring workers from Jordan to Eilat hotels

Meanwhile, 700 workers will come from Jordan to work in the hotels in Eilat, the government meeting confirmed today. The move comes against the backdrop of the severe damage suffered by the tourist city as a result of the Corona crisis, and it will enable the hotels to operate in the area ahead of the summer vacation.

Prior to the spread of the Corona and the closure imposed on the state, about 2,000 Jordanian civilian workers were employed in Eilat hotels, mainly in maid and cleaning functions. However, following the crisis, they returned to their homeland - which created a problem with hotel operations.

In recent times, attempts have been made to encourage employment of Eilat residents in vacant positions, but without success. As part of the approved proposal, the arrival of up to 1,500 workers from Jordan will be allowed. Initially, only 700 of them will be able to enter Israel, according to the Ministry of Health guidelines, and will be employed in Eilat after 14 days of isolation. The 800 additional workers will arrive in Israel, subject to a fall in the unemployment rate in the city and the approval of the Ministry of Finance.

More on:

• Approved: 1,500 Jordanians will work in Eilat

• Unemployment is flooding Tiberias

Prime Minister Netanyahu at the opening of the cabinet meeting: "The predictions I saw about the Corona - gloomy"

"This is a very important decision on the road to restoring the tourism industry in the city of Eilat," Minister of Tourism Asaf Zamir declared. "Bringing the workers is a necessary step in opening the tourist season in the city of Eilat and bringing the residents back to the workforce.

Eilat Mayor Meir Yitzhak Halevi: "Given the implications of the Corona epidemic for the city of Eilat, it is of great importance to reduce the unemployment rates among Eilat residents, who were among the highest in the country. These actions did not meet the needs and hence the Jordanian recruitment action is required. As a condition, and in order to continue to bring back the majority of the city's residents, for every Jordanian worker, five employees will be absorbed.