Addressing the Herzliya Conference, Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov on Monday 17 Shevat 5773presented the summary of the Tourism Ministry’s three-year plan, 2010 -2012.
According to the minister, “The Tourism Ministry met almost all the targets we set ourselves at the beginning of my term. The ministry has met the target of an additional one million tourists in three years. They told us it was a dream, but we have turned the dream into reality.’ The minister added that meeting the targets was made possible by remaining steadfast to the three year plan that was based on several focused platforms:
· Focused and segmented marketing (to source countries and target groups)
· Professional training and skills in the area of tourism (with an emphasis on the periphery)
· Definition and improvement of the tourism product
· Investment in tourism infrastructure and swift increase in the hotel room supply
Statistics presented by the minister showed actual results for 2012 against those goals set for the beginning of the term:
Visitor Entries:
Target for 2012 was 4 million and in actuality, visitors to the country reached 3.52 million.
Overnights for domestic tourism:
The goal set for 2012 was for 16.5 million, which was achieved.
Direct income from tourism:
The goal set for 2012 was for 18.5 billion NIS and the direct income amounted to 17.8 billion NIS.
Direct and indirect employee:
The goal set for 2012 was 190,000 and in actuality, there were 209,000.
The minister also noted that the increase in incoming tourism brought significant growth in income in the years 2009 – 2012. In 2012, total revenue from tourism reached a new record of 37 billion NIS. 34,000 new jobs were added to the workforce and, thanks to grants and promotion by the Tourism Ministry, more than 1,200 new businesses – small and medium-sized –opened their doors.
The main achievements that the minister highlighted in his presentation included the reform for reducing the cost of vacationing in Israel that was approved by the government in November 2012. According to the minister, the reform will increase transparency, encourage competition in the industry and will reduce unnecessary regulations. All these are expected to reduce prices by about 20% with the implementation of the reforms recommended by the committee, which was headed by Tourism Ministry Director-General Noaz Bar-Nir. Another achievement mentioned by the minister was the hotel ranking after a hiatus of twenty years in Israel without such a system. The tender to choose the company which will implement the ranking is now in progress and will be completed by 7 February 2013. This step is also expected to contribute to a decrease in vacation costs.
The minister also spoke about the main marketing activities that have led to an increase in incoming tourism, including, among others: the increase in charter flights to Eilat while offering a “safety net” for tourism wholesalers overseas; the increase in seat capacity to Ben-Gurion airport (Easy Jet, SAS, Air Berlin, Niki and others) and a record of over 100 cruise ships anchoring in Israeli ports with over 300,000 tourists in 2012.
The ministry met the targets of the Rotem report, published at the beginning of the term, which referred to the need for an additional 19,000 hotel rooms in order to accommodate the expected 5 million tourists by 2015. According to ministry statistics, about 4,000 rooms have already been built; a further 5,000 are currently under construction, with an additional 5,500 rooms in the advanced planning stages.
The minister also referred to the activities undertaken by the ministry in tourism infrastructure with a view to improving the tourism product, including, among others: the improvement, development and construction of public infrastructure, such as building new boardwalks. Among the major infrastructure projects completed since the beginning of the term include: the development of the Gospel Trail, the development of the baptism site at Qasr el Yahud, the development of the old city in Nazareth, and the tziyun of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai.
In this framework, other steps have also been taken: the re-organization of the Israel Government Tourism Corporation for the swift, effective and inexpensive implementation of infrastructure projects and giving preference in the allocation of grants for building hotels throughout Israel (up to 20% and up to 28% in Jerusalem and Tiveria).
Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov: “I am proud of the work of the ministry during my term; I am proud of the significant increase in the numbers of tourists coming to Israel, in the creation of tens of thousands of new jobs mainly in the periphery, in the building of tourism infrastructure to improve the service offered to the millions of tourists that visit Israel and I am proud of the fact that we have placed Israel on the world tourism map. I would like to take this opportunity of thanking the Director-General of my ministry Noaz Bar-Nir who worked with me so diligently and efficiently and to all the wonderful team in my bureau and to the staff in the Tourism Ministry who carry out their work in a professional manner that inspires respect. I became acquainted with the people in the tourism industry whom I respect very much and whose cooperation and cordial relations I enjoyed. I hope that the next Tourism Minister will continue to develop the Israeli tourism industry.”
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One Response
I believe that the tourism “ministry” has little to do with the tourism trade. Let the private sector take care of tourism and stop wasting our money. I also don;t want my tax money building christian tourist sites.