The honey and the sting: because of the operation - a decrease in the volume of traffic; The main victim: the restaurant industry Israel today

Operation "Dawn" gives its signals on the roads - where a significant decrease in the number of vehicles on the road is felt, and in businesses - which report a decrease in the volume of sales and cancellations of orders.

For example, in Netiv Israel today (Sunday) a decrease of about one third of the telephone inquiries to the company was felt - which could also be related to the work that today is fasting Tisha B'Av and in general there are fewer people on the road due to the big holiday.

However, Pelephone data backs up the claim.

According to the data between the hours of 06:00 and 09:00 this morning, there was a decrease of about 26% in the number of waze users, compared to the same hours last Sunday.

According to Palaphone, during those hours there was also a decrease of about 18% in the use of the Moovit application, compared to last Sunday. 

Documentation: Attacking positions for launching rockets of the Jihad // Photo: IDF spokesperson

In fact, in all the channels tested, today there is a decrease of between 20-33% in the use of roads.

This figure stands out among road travelers not only in the south of the country - but also in the center.

Concern about damage to the tourism industry

In the meantime, there is concern in the restaurant industry due to the drop in sales since the operation began in Gaza - this despite the fact that its first days fell on the weekend and the Tisha B'Av fast - in which most of them were closed anyway.

The main concern in the industry, which currently employs about 170,000 workers, is the damage that is evident in the tourism industry.

It seems that the fear is not completely unfounded.

Thus, for example, only yesterday we were informed of the cancellation of the match between Juventus and Atletico Madrid in Bloomfield following the security escalation, and this is because Juventus was reluctant to come to Israel.

A restaurant in Tel Aviv (those photographed have no relation to the news), photo: Yehoshua Yosef

"The problem is that the tourism market, unlike the local market, does not recover very quickly. If there is a ceasefire tomorrow, the Israelis immediately return, they don't wait long. But the tourists - as soon as they hear about some kind of security flare-up, they cancel their vacations even for a month And two months ahead," explains Shai Berman, CEO of the Restaurant Association, in a conversation with Israel Hayom.

Berman adds: "This is our main concern today. In August, the Israelis fly to the Greek islands, and this vacuum has to be filled by the tourists. If the tourists don't come, we will be in trouble."

Many cancellations

According to Berman, the bars and restaurants in the center of the country and in the south felt the security escalation very well: "In the lowlands and Gush Dan on Fridays and Saturdays, there were many cancellations, more than 50% cancellations. Even in the places of young people, such as bars, there was a decrease of about 20-30% % in cycles. But in restaurants, in places where families hang out, there was a real catastrophe. On Saturday night anyway, there was a Tisha B'Av fast, so the damage is less significant."

Shai Berman (left) at a debate in the Knesset (archive), photo: Dodi Vaaknin

Barman's words are in line with the data of the ontopo application, according to which as of Friday afternoon there was an almost two-fold increase compared to last week in the amount of cancellations of existing restaurant orders.

Also, there was a 22% drop in restaurant orders for Friday-Saturday, with a 59% drop in the southern region alone.

"We hope that the political situation will not deprive the business owners of the assistance they deserve. We are after two very difficult years, and are trying to raise our heads above water. We hope that all parties will act responsibly and statefully," Berman concludes.

Participated in the preparation of the news:

Assaf Golan, Sonia Gorodisky and Hayali Jacobi-Handelsman

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