Tourism throughout Israel dries up

In what should have been a record-breaking year, Israeli officials have seen expected revenue slip away as violence continues to plague the Holy Land. Thousands have canceled their vacation plans and Israel's tourism revenue has slowed to a trickle after a month of deadly clashes. Israel's national airline carrier, El Al, reported a cancelation rate of 15 percent Wednesday. "So far there's no turnaround or signs of a turnaround," spokesman Nachman Kleiman said Wednesday.

The Israel Hotel Association projected that the tourism industry will lose dlrs 500-600 million during the winter months, or approximately 50 percent of the projected revenues. As a result, about 10,000 employees will lose their jobs. Six Nazareth hotels have shut down temporarily, including the Marriott Renaissance, which opened only 10 months ago. The occupancy rate in Nazareth stood at 80 percent until the disturbances began a month ago, the hotel association said. Palestinian and Israeli tour boards had worked together and spent millions of dollars preparing for the arrival of some 4 million visitors eager to participate in millennial festivities. Tourism amounts to nearly 10 percent of Israel's Gross National Product. This should have been the best year in the history of the state of Israel and for Jerusalem, said Mayor of Jerusalem Ehud Olmert. "It's a tragedy for all of us," Olmert said. Jerusalem had expected a heavy influx of Christian pilgrims this year the 2,000th anniversary of Jesus' birth.

Many major Western governments, including Canada, the United States and Britain, have issued advisories cautioning against travel to Israel, the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem because of a heightened threat of terrorist attacks. "These warnings are only given in times of increased tension or violence," said Larry Schwartz, the spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv. Israeli tourism officials held out hope. "The sooner it gets better, the more quickly we will be able to recoup," said Nitzan Ilan, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Tourism.

(AP)