In Israel there is something for every visitor: ecotourism, archaeological tourism, heritage tourism and beach resorts. There is the Dead Sea, an inland lake with more minerals than any other water on earth. There is Jerusalem, a fascinating city for Jews, Muslims and Christians.
Nevertheless, political turbulence and the conflicts with Lebanon and Hezbollah have vastly damaged the Israel’s reputation. In order to eradicate this negativity, the Israelis are set to call upon the advice of consultants Ernest&Young and will spend an estimated $250 million over the next five years.
The Israeli ministry of tourism recently announced that it aims to double the amount of foreign visitors from 2 to 4 million over the next 5 years. They plan to focus their marketing mainly on the US, UK, Russia and China.
Ernest&Young have stressed that it will be necessary to renovate the old city of Jerusalem, upgrade Tel Aviv’s beachfront and modernise the Eilat promenade. In the Dead Sea area, it will be necessary to build new facilities as the region is lacking an estimated 10.000 rooms. The consultants also suggested setting up a tourist investment board dealing with grants, incentives and budgets.
