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Israel Hotels, Youth Hostels Full As Passover, Easter Tourism Breaks Records
By
Herb Brandon Jerusalem ---- March 30, 2010 …. . Perfect weather with warm, sunny skies smiles down upon hundreds of thousands of tourists as they enjoy the beaches, outdoor restaurants, parks and hiking trails of Israel. Statistics from the past three months illustrate that Israel will secure a record number of 3.5 million tourists in 2010, according to Israel Tourism Minister Stats Misezhnikov. Coming to Israel and celebrating either Passover or Easter in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem or Eilat has become an annual tradition for many from New York, Los Angeles, Montreal and Toronto to Chicago, London, Moscow and Paris. "Over 70 percent of those here for Passover in the Tel Aviv Hilton will make advance reservations for next year before they leave," said Avi, a concierge working at the Hilton for more than 30 years. But for those who cannot afford 300 dollars for a Passover dinner, and 500 dollar a night hotel rooms, there are dozens of modern, comfortable, clean hotels and youth hostels within a 2 minute walk from the famous Tel Aviv Beach.
"I have been managing several 3 and 4 star hotels in Tel Aviv for many years, they are clean, friendly and affordable," says Avi Slama of Tel Aviv Rental Apartments. "For only a 100 dollars a night, one gets a clean and spacious one bedroom hotel room. This comes with daily cleaning service, free TV cable and Internet. But perhaps the most attractive feature is that we are directly across from the Namal - the Tel Aviv Port with it's many trendy restaurants and beaches. We are at full capacity for Passover and Easter and for those wishing to come during the summer months, we advise to reserve their rooms now." Tel Aviv Rental
Luxury Apartments and Suites are fully furnished with air conditioning,
heating and have every convenience you'd expect to find in a modern
apartment. Well-equipped kitchenettes, but best of all, when staying
at the Tel Aviv Rental Luxury Apartments, everything is at your
doorstep. Also within
easy reach of the Tel Aviv Rental Luxury Apartments are Dizengoff
Shopping Center, the Habima Theatre and the Cameri National Theaters,
the Frederick Mann Concert Auditorium, the Tel Aviv Museum, the
Opera House and other centers of culture. A short bus or taxi
ride from the Tel Aviv Rental Luxury Apartments and Flats will
take you to the ancient and romantic port of Jaffa. Shirah Kaveh, the Israel Tourism Ministry spokesperson, said that part of the rise in incoming tourism is directly due to the visa-waver agreement which Israel has signed with Russia in September 2008, which "increased tourism from Russia by more than 200 percent." Following the Pope's last visit to Israel, the Israel Ministry of Tourism launched marketing campaigns for Catholics and Evangelists in Brazil and tourism from there in 2009 went up to 40,000 people, which is a 30 percent leap compared to the previous year. Slama said he had no doubt that any decrease in tourism from Western Europe is connected to negative headlines about Israel in the foreign media. Slama says that based on his experience, it's the security situation that matters. "Talk doesn't have a profound effect here," Slama said. "More tourists are coming to Israel because the security situation is better." "Headlines illustrating Barack Obama bashing Israel for building in its own capital do harm to both Israel tourism and security," said Slama. "A more accurate image of the warm, peaceful and humanitarian heart of Israel can be seen by pictures of the Israel Defense Force (IDF) Field Hospital in Haiti which saved thousands of lives." Yossi Fattal, director of the Travel Agents Association, said Israel has "been standing still for the past 10 years, doing nothing different while tourism advances." He added: "without investment in new techniques to bring in more tourists, I believe we will continue to miss out in the near future." In a recent visit to the ITB International Tourism Fair in Berlin," travel agents witnessed three ads for Israel, and a flood of advertising for Turkey, which was "just everywhere - on posters, on taxis, on television, on the radio." Turkey has spent and invested millions upon millions of dollars for Tourism. Slama noted an Ernst and Young study on Israel tourism, which stated that Israel could bring in as many as five million tourists a year if it invests $50 million a year in advertising for a period of five years. "We did very well in illustrating our beaches and young, attractive faces in recent advertising campaigns," said Slama. "Photos of the ancient Western Wall, the stones of Masada, and the holy churches of Nazareth and Bethlehem serve us well, but nothing sells better than happy tourists with smiles on their faces." Recent Israel tourism marketing, advertising and PR campaigns created by the Israel Ministry of Tourism and the Israel Ministry for Foreign Affairs deserves much compliments for being modern, creative and professional. Professional being that some of the most powerful and creative ad agencies in Israel and the US have worked on these campaigns for close to a year. Using tons of market research and dozens of scientific focus groups, the Israel Ministry of Tourism was made aware of what works and what does not. About two years ago Israel consular officials, Israel advertising associations and both Israel and New York advertising ad and PR organizations came up with the creative idea for changing Israel's war-torn, terrorism hit state's public image. Targeting American men with disposable income to visit Israel. "We had
to find the right hook," Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson
David Saranga told Newsweek. "And what's relevant
to men under 35? Good-looking women!" "We found that Israel's image among men aged 18-38 was lacking," said Saranga. "So we thought we'd approach them with an image they'd find appealing." "When you see beautiful women, good-looking people, on the beaches of Tel Aviv, you understand that Israel has to deal with the conflict, it's true, and there are religious elements in its society, but there are also other things," Saranga told the UK's Globe and Mail. "I want people to know that Israel is much more than a conflict, that people in Israel have normal lives." The beautiful models in Israel, Saranga said, were a "Trojan horse" to present Israel as a modern country with beautiful beaches and pretty women. "Many people from Atlanta, Miami, Dallas, San Francisco, Dublin, Stockholm, Oslo and Rome don't even know we have beaches," he said.
"The only image of Israel that many young men have in their minds from the last decade, since they were 11 or 12 years old, is of conflict, of the Intifada, of buses blowing up. We want to show them that Israel is not a one-dimensional place of just wars and politics and conflicts," said David Brinn, editorial director of Israel 21c, an organization that relates to journalists in writing non-conflict stories about Israel. Slama said what's needed is massive" investment in advertising, where some of Israel's neighbors such as Turkey and Egypt are vastly outspending and overshadowing Israel. "Israel has more to offer than any other country in the region," says Slama. "We have history, culture, nature, modern infrastructure, but perhaps most of all - we have a thriving democracy which embraces freedom of speech, freedom of movement and a desire for peace."
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