Hotel proceeds totaled NIS 2.4 billion in current prices in the first quarter of 2019, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported today, 3% more than in the first quarter of 2018. Proceeds from Israelis were down 1%, while proceeds from foreign tourists rose 7%.
Foreign tourists accounted for 49% of the total proceeds, of which 63% came from hotels in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Proceeds rose 7% in Tel Aviv and 10% in Jerusalem. 42% of the proceeds from Israeli vacationers came from hotels in Eilat and at the Dead Sea.
Proceeds totaled NIS 524 million from hotels in Jerusalem and NIS 520 million from hotels in Tel Aviv, of which NIS 361 million came from foreign tourists. Proceeds from hotels in Eilat totaled NIS 435 million, of which NIS 361 million came from Israeli tourists. Proceeds from hotels at the Dead Sea totaled NIS 210 million, and proceeds from hotels in Tiberias totaled NIS 153 million.
Israel had 420 hotels in the first quarter with an aggregate 55,000 rooms, compared with 411 hotels in the first quarter of 2018. Occupancy averaged 64%, the same as in the corresponding quarter last year. Foreign tourists overnights grew by 9%.
The number of jobs in tourist hotels averaged 38,000 a month, down 2.6%, compared with the corresponding period last year.11% of the workers were employed through personnel agencies. The average salary per job for hotel workers was NIS 8,000, NIS 1,000 more on the average than those employed through personnel agencies.
The figures also show that the proceeds per tourist totaled $113 per night. The Central Bureau of Statistics also said that the first quarter of the year usually has the lowest proceeds per night of any time of year.
Although most of the foreign tourists stayed in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, Tiberias also had 22% more foreign tourists in the first quarter than in the first quarter of last year. More Israeli also went to Tiberias: proceeds from Israelis at hotels in Tiberias grew 12% in the first quarter of 2019. Proceeds from Israelis rose 4% in Eilat, but fell 11% at the Dead Sea.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 16, 2019
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