Tourist overnights rose 28% in April 2005, and overnights by Israelis were up 10%, compared with April 2004, according to figures published today by the economic department of the Israel Hotel Association.
Israeli overnights totaled 1.1 million in April, 65% of all overnights, while tourist overnights totaled 599,000 45% fewer than in 2000. Overall overnights amounted to 1.7 million, 16% more than in April 2004. The nationwide room occupancy rate was 58% in April, 21% higher than in April 2004.
Israel Hotel Association chairman Avi Rosenthal said that the increase in hotel tourist overnights in April was much greater than the 15% increase in tourist entries. He said that this meant that more people were coming for vacations, and were spending more time in Israel.
Tourist overnights rose in all regions, except for Eilat, where tourist overnights were down 23% to 81,000. The biggest increase was in Tiberias, where overnights were up 75% to 32,000. 474,000 Israeli overnights, 44% of the total, were in Eilat a 10% increase.
The steepest rise in Israeli overnights was in Haifa, where they rose 24% to 27,000. Israeli overnights fell at the Dead Sea and in Herzliya. Herzilya, however, had the highest room occupancy rate 74%.
The number of hotel overnights rose 11% to five million in January-April 2005, and tourist overnights were up 35% to 1.9 million, still 50% less than in January-April 2000. At 3.1 million, Israeli overnights were unchanged from the corresponding period last year. The hotel occupancy rate averaged 47%, compared with 41% in January-April 2004 and 60% in January-April 2000.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on May 24, 2005