Tourism thread

[Livni]

economy flights (the 10% for 99$ charters) are starting to Israel from Luton Airport, so soon we will be able to make flights to Europe much cheaper!

[ira]

More business travelers, fewer tourists
Business people accounted for 60% of the 8.4 million tourist overnights in Israel in 2007.
Dalia Tal 24 Jan 08 09:43
There are now more business travelers and fewer tourists visiting Israel, figures by the Israel Hotel Association reveal. Business people accounted for 60% of the 8.4 million tourist overnights in 2007.
According to Israel Hotels Association president Eli Gonen, these figures highlight the business potential in Israel, but also the unexploited potential for recreational tourism, amounting to 4-5 million tourists a year.


The figures also reveal that there was a total of 20.5 million hotel overnights in 2007, 6% higher than in 2006. Tourist overnights totaled 8.4 million in 2007, 41% of the total number of overnights, representing a 23% increase over 2006. Overnights by Israelis totaled 12.1 million, a decrease of 4% compared with 2006.

There were 2.9 million overnights in Jerusalem in 2007, 35% of the total number of overnights, and 26% more than in 2006. Tel Aviv had 1.96 million overnights, 23% of the total overnights, and 24% more than in 2006. Tiberias had 532,000 overnights, 34% more than in 2006. The kibbutzim had 531,000 overnights, 17% more than in 2006. Overnights at the Dead Sea hotels totaled 414,000, 32% more than in 2006. Netanya had 308,000 overnights, representing a 27% increase over 2006, while overnights in Haifa and Herzliya rose by 26% in 2007.

Overnights in Eilat totaled 761,000, 1% less than in 2006, The decrease is attributed to the decision by travel agents in Europe to stop marketing the city following the Second Lebanon War, but also the development of tourism and holiday attractions in the Gulf of Eilat, which are providing stiff competition to the city itself.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - âìåáñ òéúåï ëìëìä ùì éùøàì - çãùåú ëìëìä - áð÷éí - áåøñä - îè"ç - îããéí - îéãò òñ÷é - äù÷òåú - ùå÷ ääåï - ðãìï - òéúåï òñ÷éí - éãéòåú ëìëìä - - on January 24, 2008

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2008

[Livni]

With the dollar down for european tourists israel is now cheaper than lots of other countries, food and restaurants in israel now cost 30-40% less than britain or france.

I have a friend who went to GB for a week, he was shocked how expensive travel and food in britain is. He told us his company paid for it and the cost was 150% what they put in a budget that they used from the same trip in 2005.

[ira]

Competition tells: BA cuts Tel Aviv-London fare
On Monday, BMI announced that it would begin Tel Aviv-London flights in March.
Dalia Tal 21 Feb 08 11:42
The entry of British Midland Airways Ltd. (BMI) into the Israeli aviation market is affecting fares. British Airways plc (LSE: BAY) has announced that it is cutting its World Traveller Plus fare on the Tel Aviv-London route to $1,177 and the World Traveller fare to $603. Fares to follow on destinations in the North and South America and the Far East have also been cut. World Traveller Plus class is unique to the airline, and it wants to attract business class passengers to it, in part by cutting fares.
British Airways cut its World Traveller Plus from Tel Aviv to New York by $100 to $1,689, and to San Francisco to $1,931. The World Traveller fare to New York has been cut to $993 and to San Francisco and Los Angeles to $1,173. World Traveller Plus fares from Tel Aviv to Singapore have been cut to $2,058 and to Sydney to $2,718. World Traveller fares to Tokyo have been cut to $1,447 and to Shanghai and Hong Kong to $1,441.


British Airways Israel country commercial manager Yael Katan said that World Traveller Plus was intended for business passengers who work for companies that requires them to ply tourist class. She said that the class was also intended for tourists who want more leg room.

On Monday, BMI announced that it would begin flights between Heathrow and Ben Gurion Airport in March 2008. Flights will leave London at 12:50 pm and land in Tel Aviv at 20:00, local time. The return flight will leave the next morning. Fares will range from $751 to $1,221 for tourist classes and $1,403 to $2,740 for business class. BMI will compete against British Airways and El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (TASE: ELAL) on this route.

Low-cost airline ThomsonFly makes six weekly flights to the UK: three to Luton, north of London and three to Manchester.

On Monday, El Al announced that it was raising fares to all destinations because of the erosion in the dollar.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - Globes [online] – business and technology news from Israel - on February 21, 2008

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2008

[Livni]

competition is good but it looks like fuel prices will soon erode any real price cuts