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The British Times: "Israel will become the hot destination of the Mediterranean"

In an extensive article published in the British newspaper, the advantages of Israel in dealing with the corona plague were mentioned.

Is that enough to give it a competitive edge?

Not sure, but this is definitely an extraordinary opportunity.

"Israel should be on your list of destinations," notes the owner of an international tourism company

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• Israel

• Vaccines

• The London Times

Eyal Shapira

Monday, 15 March 2021, 07:08 Updated: 07:54

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Inauguration of the new visitor center of Timna Park (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)

As the fog dissipates and the dust slowly settles, the future of the world tourism industry, in the post-Corona period, begins to become clearer.

Industry experts estimate that 82 million travel and tourism jobs worldwide will go down the drain as a direct result of the corona plague, and the huge economic losses are expected to reach an astronomical number of close to $ 2 trillion.

This is in addition to a significant slowdown in tourism, which is expected in the next four years.

Because in a plague, just like in a war, everyone loses.

Well, almost everyone.

One of the countries that might be expected to profit is none other than

Israel

.

This is according to an extensive article published yesterday (Sunday) in the prestigious weekend supplement of the British Times, entitled: "Can Israel become the hot destination of the Mediterranean?"

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Significant slowdown in tourism is expected in the next four years (Photo: ShutterStock, Shutterstock)

The reason Israel is not Portugal

"Israel is expected to take advantage of a significant market share, while many countries are still struggling to build national immunization programs."

According to the reporter, Chris Hasalem, Israel is expected to gain a competitive advantage in the coming post-Corona era.

"Israel has always boasted of tourist attractions, similar to its neighbors in the Mediterranean basin, such as Greece and Turkey," writes Salem.

"It has a Mediterranean climate, great restaurants, attractive beaches and a bustling cultural scene. In Israel, history is evident from all sides, until it is almost tangible in its present."

He said that with this kind of potential, Israel should have already attracted tourists similar to coveted destinations such as Portugal.

"But its reputation and the problematic 'neighborhood' it is in have kept many tourists away from it, and many visitors have traveled to it to visit friends or for various other interests. But if you believe its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu - everything is about to change," the British reporter notes.

He also points out that due to the fact that the Israeli population is one of the most vaccinated in the world against the corona virus, restaurants, bars and other places of entertainment have been opened to Arona - as we all know.

He also mentions the green mark given to Israeli citizens who have been vaccinated in two doses, which will allow safe access to hotels, cultural and sports events, gyms, swimming pools, prayer houses and more.

More on Walla!

what a king!

King George Street in Tel Aviv is praised worldwide

To the full article

"Great restaurants and a vibrant cultural scene."

Coffee in Tel Aviv (Photo: ShutterStock, Shutterstock)

Next step: Agreements with other countries?

Thus, the next step will be to sign mutual agreements with other countries with a high percentage of vaccinators, such as the United Kingdom, which will allow Israel to serve as a test case for post-epidemic tourism.

In doing so, Israel is expected to take advantage of a significant market share, while many countries are still struggling to build national immunization programs.

The article quoted the Minister of Tourism, Orit Farkash-Hacohen, as noting that "this is my biggest challenge at the moment, and I am working with the Ministers of Health and Transportation to gradually open up the skies of Israel, and allow more tourists to arrive."

When exactly will this happen?

"It will take time. Maybe a month."

The article also mentioned the words of Prime Minister Netanyahu, who was interviewed by the Jerusalem Post and said that "we are world champions not only in vaccines but we will be world champions in economic growth, which includes tourism."

The reporter notes that there is some evidence backing up these claims.

For example, he mentions the recent significant investment in luxury hotels, including the new hotel of the Six Senses chain in the Arava, the new branch of the international Soho House chain, the Novo Hotel in Tel Aviv and the Sofia Kinneret Hotel in Tiberias, located in a hysterical 19th century building.

"All of these are expected to open this year," says the article in the British newspaper.

Further support for these claims comes in the form of the extensive development and renovation processes that the Israeli authorities have conducted at popular tourist sites in the past year, while tourists were absent from them.

For example, the extensive renovation of the Tower of David in Jerusalem, the accessibility of the alleys in the Old City and more.

All of these join the normalization agreements signed with the UAE last summer.

According to Farkash-Hacohen, the expectation is for 100,000 visitors a year to arrive from the Union to Israel, with 42 weekly flights between the destinations.

It is also noted that many airlines have inaugurated new routes to Tel Aviv, Europe and the United States, such as EasyJet, Wizz Air, Virgin Atlantic, American Airlines and more.

In January, it launched a line between Larnaca and Tel Aviv.

Wizz Air (Photo: Wolf PR)

Haifa: Home port with limited guarantee

In the opinion of the British reporter, the most significant development in the matter is the announcement by the shipping company Royal Caribbean that it has chosen Haifa as the home port of its new ship Odyssey of the Seas, designed to accommodate 4,284 passengers.

It will offer cruises to the Greek and Cypriot islands, taking advantage of the fact that citizens of these three countries can move between destinations if we are vaccinated.

Will all this be enough to make Israel a much more significant tourist destination?

In the opinion of the author of the article, Israel's leadership in the vaccine race offers only a tiny window of opportunity, which will allow it to develop in this direction.

When countries like Spain, Portugal, Turkey and other destinations reach full immunity, the game will be different, and Israel may lose its advantage.

According to him, the indication for this is the fact that the same Royal Caribbean has announced that in the summer of 2022, the same new cruise ship will leave Haifa and move to other domestic ports - Fort Lauderdale in the winter and Rome in the summer.

"Israel is not big enough to be a source market for a cruise line that will make it the permanent home of the new flagship," said Sue Sarient, editor of the newspaper's cruise section.

Moreover, there were no discussions between London and Israel regarding agreements similar to those signed with Greece and Cyprus, and last week France rejected Netanyahu's call regarding free movement between the two countries, for the tourists who were vaccinated.

"It's too early," Paris announced.

"First of all, the question of the health passport at European level must be regulated."

She chose Haifa as her home port.

The cruise ship Odyssey of the Seas (Photo: Royal Caribbean)

"Israel should be on your list of destinations"

According to the article, the implementation of the vaccine passport program throughout the EU will be another blow to Israel in everything related to tourism competition.

The reporter quoted a tourist guide from Eilat as saying, "It's nice to dream, and maybe things will change, but I think it's another empty promise from Netanyahu. ".

At the same time, there is a fear that a full recovery may come no earlier than 2026. "It will take several years - our estimate is about 5-3 years - to bring the industry back to what it was before," Tomer Moore, a British reporter, told Strong Restaurants. together".

"We have been making trips to Israel since time immemorial," says John Talper of Explore Tourism.

"If you believe that travel expands consciousness, then Israel should be on your list of destinations. This is a country you must see before you form an opinion about it, and I believe that its situation during this period, in terms of the Corona plague, will bring a large number of visitors from abroad. It is a tourist destination. "

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