The Nazareth and Nof Hagalil (previously Nazareth Illit) tourist industry crisis was addressed in a Tuesday meeting, led by Israel's Hotel Association. The cities, known for their tourist attractions, have been dealt a heavy financial blow following the country's year-long closure to tourism due to the coronavirus pandemic. On top of this were the riots that broke out in Jewish-Arab communities throughout Israel during the 11-day Israel-Gaza conflict this past month.
During the meeting, it was noted that the effective cooperation between both mayors helped avoid the riots, but tourism is still low in the cities.
"I see great importance in coming to and supporting the city of Nazareth especially during a period of social tension in Israel," Tourism Minister Orit Farkash-Hacohen said.
"Political and security instability comes at a price and negatively affects, in my opinion, our internal social resilience and we should not ignore that. Nazareth and Nof Hagalil are great examples of coexistence and mutual respect and I see special importance in being here now," she said in support of visiting the cities, that are in need of local tourists, as coronavirus regulations still prohibit most foreign nationals to visit the country.
Hotel occupancy has drastically declined in the cities, dropping from 90% capacity to 8% in April. The crisis caused 66% of the hotels to close since the start of the pandemic, the Tourism Ministry reported.
"We are licking the wounds, waiting for tourists to come back here so we can revive business. It's painful," Amir Haik, the head of the Hotel Association said in response to the decline.
Halevi said the Tourism Ministry has presented a plan to bring international tourists back and preserve its infrastructure, but that until it takes effect, Israel's cities are relying on domestic tourism.
Many hotel and business owners attended the meeting run by the Hotel Association.
"We should not talk about coexistence, we should do it," Haik announced. "We will work for the coexistence for all citizens in the country."
Haik described the coronavirus crisis as hitting the car breaks, causing the country to stop, the world to stop, and tourism to stop along with it.
Some 75% of Nazareth's guests were tourists from outside of Israel, Haik said.
"We will help the Tourism Minister to do everything she can to bring the tourists back to Israel. At the same time, Israelis need to go to hotels, restaurants and other businesses in Israel," he suggested.
Nazareth's mayor, Ali Salem found the meeting "very important" as the city has struggled through corona and the recent conflict and its 110,000 residents just want to return to "a normal life of coexistence in this country."
"I want to greet all of you in our city," Salem invited Israelis to visit Nazareth.