Are the kibbutzim missing the chance to profit from tourism? Most of the necessary infrastructure exists. Kibbutzim have swimming pools, public spaces, lawns, and even a dining room. What is needed is to convert or construct buildings for visitors to stay in, and for kibbutzim to be willing to accept tourists (mostly Israelis) walking along the kibbutz paths.
Only 3,170 of the 55,000 hotel rooms in Israel are in the 20 kibbutz hotels, including four in the Judean hills, three in the Galilee, and six in the vicinity of Lake Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee). These hotels naturally serve fewer tourists, most of whom go to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. In addition to hotels, there are 7,000 guest rooms in the rural overnight category spread around Israel (mostly in northern communities).
According to Israel Hotel Association figures, occupancy rates in kibbutz hotels averaged 60% in 2017, compared with 67% for all hotels in Israel. The kibbutz hotel occupancy rate in 2016 was 58%, compared with 62.4% for all hotels. The Hotel Association said that over two thirds of the overnights in kibbutz hotels were by Israelis, a trend that has persisted for years.
"Globes": Is this a waste of the potential revenue from tourism?
"Tourism is not an important source of revenue for most of the kibbutzim working in tourism. Revenue from hosting and tourism is important for places like Kibbutz Hagoshrim and Kibbutz Ein Gev, but the administration does not allow kibbutzim to develop this instrument, and revenue from tourism is consequently left as a supplementary sector. The investing in hosting at most kibbutzim is not worthwhile, given the administration's excessive demands involving fees and burdensome regulations, for example," says accountant Dagan Levin, head of the economic division in the United Kibbutz Movement.
Commenting on this assertion, Wail Kayouf, head of the Country Tourism Department in the Ministry of Tourism, says that his ministry is aware of the problem and recognizes the difficulty. "We are working with the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Health, and the Israel Land Authority on the establishment of a committee for statutory regulation. We will locate the obstacles and address them."
Kayouf describes rural tourism in the kibbutzim as being at a rudimentary level that nevertheless features tourist vistas and good potential. "Most of the existing rooms in kibbutzim were made available after volunteers left them. These rooms were converted to hosting rooms with a minimal investment and have remained more or less the same ever since. A few kibbutzim have added nearby spa facilities and here and there rooms have been improved. The kibbutzim's advantage lies in the existing resources, and hosting in kibbutzim naturally attracts a certain kind of tourism - people seeking to experience the rural way of life, especially in kibbutzim with agriculture. This is hosting at popular prices that is capable of accommodating groups."
The Ministry of Tourism is aiming to bolster kibbutz hosting for incoming tourism. Kayouf explains, "We will devise hosting packages including flights and overnight stays in a kibbutz. This is aimed mainly at a tourist's second and third visit to Israel, but there is value available in it, and we recognize its potential."
The question is whether the kibbutz also sees potential in it.
Kayouf: "That is indeed a problem. There will always be those opposed to having tourists circulating around their kibbutz, but we see the possibility of increase revenue for the kibbutzim through groups of tourists without any major investment on their part. There is a good basis for developing the right product and low-cost tourism. We are in a dialogue with the kibbutz movement in order to establish a tour operators' forum involving presentation of Israeli heritage and settlement, bicycle tours, sports activity, etc.
"We are trying to convince the kibbutzim that this is economically worthwhile. I can't say that they are enthusiastic about the idea, but we are working to change their attitude."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 24, 2018
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