Hotel occupancy was up 8% in Eilat last month to 88%, compared with July 2018, the Israel Hotels Association reports.
Sde Dov airport in Tel Aviv closed on July 1 but despite predictions of gloom and doom from Eilat hoteliers, hotel occupancy was up 8% in the Red Sea resort last month to 88% compared with July 2018, the Israel Hotels Association reports. There were 20% less flights to Eilat in July compared with last year, meaning that more Israelis are traveling to Eilat by car and bus.
The Israel Hotel Association insisted that it is too early to draw any conclusions about the closure of Sde Dov. "Because most bookings for the summer were made before Sde Dov closed."
Overall there were 8% more hotel overnights in all of Israel in July compared with last year and 10% more than July 2017. 66% of hotel overnights in Israel in July were by Israelis and 34% by incoming tourists. Even so the number of Israelis flying abroad from Ben Gurion airport in July rose by 6% compared with July 2018, the Israel Airports Authority reported.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on August 23, 2019
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Eilat