Investments by Kempinski and Ritz-Carlton – new top resort due to open late 2013.
 
Israel continues to be a popular tourism destination. After the Gaza Strip turmoil and the uncertainty about the effects of the Arab Spring in this region, the number of foreign travelers entering Israel increased to 3,5 million tourists. The Israeli hospitality sector offers top quality accommodation and continues to expand. 

Currently TOPHOTELPROJECTS, counts five new top hotel projects in the "holy land" in its database tool. An outstanding project is the construction of the Herods Hotel in Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv. The premium resort will have 250 rooms and should be finished by late 2013.

David Fattal, from the same-named hotel chain, concentrates large part of his business efforts on his home country. With the Fattal hotel brand the Israeli created the country's largest hotel chain. The hotel chain has grown substantially with the takeover of the Holiday Inn Hotels in Israel.

Together with the Leonardo Hotels – Fattal acquired the hotel brand Leonardo by taking over an Architect-Hotel in Nuremberg/Germany – David Fattal is now an important hotel industry player in Europe. Andreas Neudahm – chief designer of those design hotels – is now also creating the new Herods Resort. The interior designer from Wuppertal/Germany was responsible for many famous hotel projects abroad in the past – now he is also a highly recommended hotel designer in Germany.

The Herods Herzliya Resort will be the third resort by the premium brand of the Fattal Hotel Group; two properties in Tel Aviv and in Eilat at the Red Sea are already under operation. Two further Herods Hotels are planned in Jerusalem and at the Dead Sea. The new resort will be built with its Marina straight into the sea and will be surrounded by warm waves at the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Israel's beaches are a dream for romantic couples, surfers and kite-surfers – and of course for sailing enthusiast. With its modern design, groundbreaking technology and large guest rooms, the Herods Herzliyah will set a new hospitality standard in the region. Ilan Pivco is in charge of the design.

Hotel projects in Israel:

• Heiku Resort & Spa Mt. Gilboa – Hephzibah – 70 rooms – opening: June 2013
• Hotel Indigo Tel Aviv - 110 rooms - July 2013
• Ritz-Carlton Herzliya Marina - 110 rooms - July 2013
• Kempinski Tel Aviv Hotel - 220 rooms - December 2013
• Herods Herzliya Hotel (right below) - 250 rooms - December 2013

Tourism grows hesitantly

In 2012 3,5 million international travelers contributed 4,6 billion US-Dollar to the Israeli economy. This constitutes a growth of four percent in comparison to 2011. The visitor increase was primarily due to the large sum of day-trip-visitors. Nevertheless, towards the end of the year the military operation in Gaza had its negative effects.

The total tourism sector revenue generated by Israeli customers amounted to 18,2 billion Shekel (approx.. 3,7 billion Euro). This is almost the revenue generated by foreign tourists. The national tourism income groups toghether all domestic travel within Israel as well as business made by tour operators or airlines taking Israeli travelers abroad. This reduces the dependence of the tourism sector by the influx of foreign visitors.

During 2013 Israel intends to increase the number of tourists with the respective marketing activities and advertising campaigns. The tourism planners are eager to reach the set target of five million foreign visitors by 2015. This however requires an average growth of 13 percent per year between 2013 and 2015 and is, looking at the moderate expansion rate during the recent years, an ambitious objective.

According to the TOPHOTELANALYTICS Country Reports published by TOPHOTELPROJECTS, the largest number of foreign visitors arrived from the USA, followed by the Russian Federation. But a high ratio of the Russian guests – 36 percent - traveled to Israel as day travelers. Other important countries were France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ukraine and Poland. With 31 percent the number of one-day-visitors coming from Germany was also above average.

Religious motives are an important travelling motive to visit Israel. According to a survey by the Ministry of Tourism 29 percent of the tourism arrivals are pilgrims. 24 percent traveled through the country, while only nine percent were on vacation. 20 percent of the guests traveled to Israel have been staying with friends or relatives; twelve percent of the people travelling to Israel did so for business. Nearly eight percent of the jobs in Israel depend directly or indirectly on the tourism sector.

Further information: www.tophotelprojects.com