Dead Sea buoyant while Israel sinks

Israel's inbound tourism trade increased in the Dead Sea in March despite plummeting everywhere else in the country.

Tourists spent 264,000 nights in Israel, 38% fewer than in March 2001 and 71% fewer than in March 2000.

The only area where the number of nights spent by tourists increased was the Dead Sea, where the 23,600 figure was 13% greater than that recorded for March last year.

However, domestic tourism rose in most areas, with a total of 890,000 hotel rooms occupied in March - 12% more than last year and 44% more than in 2000.

About half these stays were in Eilat, with the strong domestic figures due greatly to the Passover holiday falling in March this year, unlike in the previous two years.

Melvin Gold, of hotel consultants PKF, said: "It's foreign tourism that the country needs for its balance of payments and foreign currency earnings. The continuing conflict obviously deters people from visiting, and I very much doubt the domestic market is compensating for the loss of business from overseas."

Jerusalem's hotels were the worst affected, with an average occupancy of 21%, compared with 28% last year and 74% in March 2000.

In the whole country, occupancy stood at 42%, compared with 45% last year and 66% in 2000.

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 2-8 May 2002