The Israel Hotel Association today reported that the number of foreign tourist hotel overnights in March (before the Passover holiday) was 30% higher than in March 2016 and 37% higher than in March 2015, although the 925,000 foreign tourist hotel overnights in March 2014, before Operation Protective Edge, was 7% more than in March 2017.
The number of Israeli overnights in March this year reached almost 900,000, about the same as in March 2016 and March 2015, but 25% more than in March 2014. Total hotel overnights, including both Israelis and foreign tourists, hit 1.8 million in March, 11% more than in March 2016, 16% more than in March 2015, and 7% more than in March 2014.
Hotel occupancy in March 2017 averaged 64%, 10% higher than in March last year. As of March, the number of available hotel rooms totaled 52,388, 3% more than in the preceding year.
The number of foreign tourist hotel overnights in West Jerusalem soared to 245,000 in March, 44% more than in March 2016. Foreign tourist hotel overnights in Tel Aviv totaled 200,000 in March, while foreign tourist hotel overnights in Tiberias and around Lake Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee) also rose impressively, reaching 118,000.
Israeli tourists heavily favored Eilat, with almost 400,000 hotel overnights. There were 121,000 Israeli hotel overnights at the Dead Sea, and 61,000 in both West Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
According to Central Bureau of Statistics figures, hotel overnights totaled 4.8 million in the first quarter of 2017, 11% more than in the corresponding period last year, as a result of a 27% jump in Israeli hotel overnights during this period. Foreign tourist hotel overnights accounted for 48% of the total, compared with 42% in the corresponding period in 2016. Hotel occupancy averaged 58% in the first quarter, compared with 53% in the corresponding period last year.
Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on April 26, 2017
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