-Caveat Lector- Hotel industry warns of NIS 600 million losses this year Ha'aretz Tourism Correspondent By Irit Rosenblum http://www3.haaretz.co.il/eng/scripts/article.asp?id=123349&wordd=&mador=2&seue&datee=7/5/01 Israel's hotels will lose some NIS 600 million this year, including NIS 350 million in operational losses and NIS 250 million in financing costs, according to the president of the Israel Hotels Association, Avi Ela. Ela delivered this gloomy projection at a news conference yesterday prior to the association's biannual convention in Tel Aviv today. "We are concerned that the damage to the hotel business that will continue for many long months will only deepen and some of the property owners will be forced into receivership and bankruptcy," he warned. The theme of the convention is: "We must save tourism!" The state officials slated to participate in the meetings include President Moshe Katsav, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze'evi, Transportation Minister Ephraim Sneh, Health Minister Nissim Dahan, chairs of Knesset committees, directors-general of government ministries and various lawmakers. Tourism leaders are expected to argue that the industry is not responsible for its current crisis. On the contrary, the tourism industry accounted for 16 percent of Israel's economic growth in 2000, they have noted. Ela called for more massive government assistance to maintain the tourism infrastructure, warning of a domino effect whereby hotel failures would lead to the collapse of related businesses such as taxis, laundries and even national parks. More than 200,000 people worked in tourism-related activities, he said. "So far, 25 hotels, with 3,000 rooms, have been closed," he noted. The general manager of the Sheraton Moriah hotel chain, Eli Gonen, said the hotel industry was demanding a state-subsidized loan fund to help see it through the crisis. "We're not asking for grants, but for loans," he stressed. Hoteliers are also lobbying for tax breaks and other measures to help them cut back on expenses. Rafi Sadeh, the general manager of the Isrotel chain, suggested that the hoteliers adopt stronger methods of pressuring the government if it failed to respond to the demands of the industry by the end of the summer. He warned that the tourism crisis that had hit places like Tiberias and was now affecting hotels in Tel Aviv was also liable to reach Eilat. "On September 1, when the summer is over and the Israeli tourists disappear, the crisis will spread to Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. If hotels are shut down in Eilat, the entire city might as well be closed, since Eilat's existence is based on hotels," Sadeh said. The general manager of the Dan hotel chain, Ami Hirshstein, added that the international investors and hotel chains involved in Israel were liable to cut back on their involvement if they did not feel that the government was supporting the local tourist industry. Good news for Safed Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze'evi was the bearer of good tidings for the tourism industry in Safed during a tour of the area yesterday. The ministry plans to invest a total of NIS 50 million over a number of years to develop the city's tourism infrastructure. Ze'evi said that the glory days of Safed as a magnet for tourism in the 1950s and 1960s left no doubt that it could again become a major center for both Israeli and foreign visitors. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
