TOUR operators are divided over how best to secure the recovery of Israel’s tourism industry following the impact of last November’s Gulf crisis.
The country is still feeling the effects of the Foreign Office’s decision to advise against non-essential travel to the country, followed by Thomson’s much publicised withdrawal from Eilat.
Ironically, because Eilat was the focus of the publicity, it has suffered considerably more than locations such as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, which have traditionally been the trouble spots.
Longwood Holidays, which was selling around 550 seats a week to Eilat before the crisis, has been forced to slash prices by up to £100 for the destination, in a bid to retain passenger volumes.
But managing director Rafi Caplin says he is willing to sacrifice revenues to maintain passenger numbers, in order to protect the resort’s long-term future.
“We want to get passengers out to Eilat to retain the presence. It needs tourism. If we cut back, the hotels will have to reduce rates and then they will reduce standards. It’s important to keep the resort as full as we can.”
But rival company Peltours believes high discounting is cheapening the destination.
Marketing manager Darren Panto said:”We are seeing prices on teletext of around £199 for a week in a two to three-star hotel. Eilat is not a £199 destination. These are crazy prices.”
He said Peltours was trying to hold out on price to retain Eilat as a more upmarket product.
However, Caplin argued the price cuts are only a short term necessity and that by the time winter 1999/2000 brochures are out, demand and prices will be back to their previous levels.
Thomson is returning to Eilat for winter 1999/2000 and will resume its weekly flights from Gatwick, Luton and Manchester.
The operator said its capacity has been retained, but it had decided not to feature Eilat in its summer brochures because there had not been enough demand when it introduced it in 1998.
Air 2000 and Caledonian, which currently operate weekly flights during the winter from Gatwick and Manchester respectively, are not expected to offer these again next winter.
This, plus the disappearance of Destination Red Sea, which collapsed earlier this year, means there will be less overall UK capacity to the country. Caplin believes this will help bring prices back to their former levels.
Other key tourist spots in Israel, such as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, have been hit less hard by the Gulf crisis. Panto said tailor-made holidays in the north of Israel were selling particularly well, helped by some good offers on fares from El Al and British Airways.
Israel Tourist Office UK director Eliezer Hod said the recovery would be aided by the country’s marketing campaign centred on the Millennium celebrations.
Israel is billing itself as the focal point of the celebrations and has planned a series of events lasting throughout the year.
Longwood had not yet released its Millennium brochure as Travel Weekly went to press, but said it has received 1,500 registrations for the period.
There is more than one road to recovery as Israel’s tourist industry stages a comeback in the aftermath of the Gulf crisis