shooting of Israeli tourism minister bad for industry

THE BRUTAL gunning down of Israel’s minister of tourism is another crippling blow to the country’s beleaguered holiday industry, the Israeli government has admitted.

Israel Government Tourist Office UK director Amnon Lipzin branded the shooting of Rehavam Zeevi in Jerusalem’s Hyatt hotel as a “deplorable” act of political assassination. “Anything like this is contributing to what we have experienced and says that Israel is a place of violence,” said Lipzin.

He revealed that UK visitor numbers were down 30% this year when compared to 2000. However, Lipzin stressed that Israelis and the Palestinians would continue to work together to bolster tourism.