But 1.3 million overnight stays up 12% over January 2007.
By SHELLY PAZdan hotel tel aviv 88(photo credit: )
Only 53 percent of Israel's hotel rooms were occupied in January 2008, the Israel Hotel Association reported Monday. However, the month's total of 1.3 million overnights by both tourists (663,000) and Israelis (640,000) represents an increase of 12 percent over January 2007.
According to Israel Hotel Association, 37% (247,000) of the overnights in January were in Jerusalem hotels, an increase of 35% over January 2007. Twenty-three percent (151,000) of the lodgings in January were in Tel Aviv, while the rest were in Eilat (78,000), kibbutzim (42,000), Tiberias (32,000), the Dead Sea (25,000), Haifa (20,000) and Herzliya (12,000).
Israelis comprised some 640,000 of the overnights, a decrease of 5% in comparison to January 2007 and a decrease of 7% in comparison to January 2006. Most Israelis vacationed in Eilat (37% or 238,000 overnights), and at the Dead Sea (20% or 131,000 overnights).
The highest hotel room occupancy was reported in Tel Aviv, with 70% of the city's hotel rooms occupied in January 2008; at the Dead Sea, which averaged 68% occupancy; and in Herzliya and Jerusalem, which averaged 62% and 60%, respectively. Haifa hotels operated at 57% occupancy, Eilat at 48%, kibbutz hotels at 46%, and Tiberias and Netanya at 43%.
"Efforts to market Israel in North America are bearing fruit and we hear about constant growth in the number of tourists coming from there," Israel Hotel Association Director-General Shmuel Tzurel said.
"On the other hand, hoteliers see with concern a growth in the number of one-day visitors that arrive in Israel - a sixth of the incoming tourists in January 2008 - who don't stay in Israel's hotels," Tzurel added.
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