Haifa to be Invaded by Chinese?

Haifa is about to be "invaded" – by Chinese tourists, writes David Lev  http://tinyurl.com/ote6rgw . Workers from Shanghai, Sanjin, and Chengdu will be offered low-cost vacation packages to the city, after Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav signed an agreement with officials from the tourism department of the three cities.

Considering the fact that there are about 200,000 workers in the unions – and those visiting are expected to come with their families – the city is preparing itself for an inundation of Chinese visitors.

After a ceremony this week, Chengdu joined the other two cities as Haifa's Sister Cities. The agreement include working together on municipal improvement projects, developing technology together – and a mutual tourism agreement. Haifa will do its share to encourage residents to visit China, while the Chinese cities will put the word out about Haifa-oriented vacations. But considering the potential pool of visitors from either side, it's likely that Haifa will be much more impacted than its Chinese partners.

“Haifa is expanding its arc of connections with municipalities around the world,” Yahav said. “We have extensive contacts in China, and now we are making a critical move to enhance tourism from that country by making this deal with some of China's largest cities. We place a great deal of importance on these ties, which will give businesses, developers, and entrepreneurs a wonderful opportunity to enhance their connections with China.”

A Haifa municipality spokesperson said that they expected the visitors to make a “significant contribution” to Haifa's economy. To prepare for the visitors, Yahav has spoken to developers, and hopes to increase the number of hotel rooms in the city from the current 1,700 to about 2,300.

“Hopefully,” the official added, “they won't all come at the same time.”

A Gem of a Tourist Center on our Doorstep

About an hour north of Tel Aviv, nestled in the Carmel Mountains between picturesque Zichron Yaakov and bustling Haifa, a Druze village called Daliat el-Carmel has become a popular weekend destination for bargain-hunting, ethnic cuisine, family activities and exploring history. "This is the southernmost Druze town in the world and the largest in Israel," says Ragaa Mansour, a member of the Druze sect that is based mainly in Lebanon and Syria. "We have a wonderful market, known throughout the world, and also lots of restaurants, cafés and inns."
Activities in Daliat el-Carmel and environs run from olive pressing and weaving demonstrations to biking, horseback riding, nature walks and guided 4x4 excursions.

Visitors also flock to the villages to sample stuffed grape leaves, squash dishes, mansaf (lamb cooked in a sauce of fermented dried yogurt and served with rice or groats), mujadara (a lentil and onion pilaf), bulgur, homemade labaneh cheese and fresh pita bread sprinkled with za'atar and hummus. Villagers even bake and sell pita at roadside stands for those who can't wait to find an eatery.

"The Druze are very polite and really welcome tourists no matter if they are English-speaking, German-speaking or Hebrew-speaking," says licensed tour guide Akiva Oren. "The food and the market are the main attractions, but on weekends the main street is so crowded with Israeli visitors that you may have to wait in line."

Exploring Druze heritage
Two years ago, Mansour opened the Carmel Center for Druze Heritage, a hands-on living museum dedicated to showcasing the traditional dress, foods, crafts and industries of the Druze people, religion and culture.

Home of Israel's national anthem
Mansour points out the little-known fact that the words to Israel's national anthem, Hatikvah, were written in Usfiya, her hometown.

The Saturday market
No matter from which direction you're driving into Daliat el-Carmel, says Oren, the bonus is the beautiful scenery from all approaches. Even from the direction of Usfiya, which is where last year's devastating fire began and burned down much of the Carmel forest, the vistas are breathtaking, he says.

On weekends, hundreds of Israelis from the center and north of the country drive these roads to find bargains in Daliat el-Carmel's old marketplace, located at the heart of the village. Open on Saturdays, when many Israeli retail centers are closed for the Jewish Sabbath, the bazaar boasts dozens of stores offering varied wares, alongside stalls featuring Druze staples such as olive oil, olives and pita bread.

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60,000 Palestinian tourists to visit Israel in 2011

More than 60,000 Palestinians are expected to visit Israel as tourists by
the end of 2011, at least twice as many as last year, a defense official
said.

Israel is planning to double the number of permits issued to Palestinians
this year, due to the improved security in the West Bank, the source said.
However, if the situation deteriorates in September following the
Palestinians' UN bid for statehood, it will be harder to issue permits, he
said.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/more-than-60-000-palestinians-expected-to-visit-israel-as-tourists-in-2011-1.373952

The permits are not usually issued to individuals or families, but mainly
to schools and summer camps wishing to take children to visit beaches
and mixed Jewish-Arab cities in Israel.

In 2010 28,000 Palestinians were given permits to visit Israel. The
permits are granted specifically for touring, as opposed to other permits
given for employment, medical treatment or prisoner visitation.

"We want Palestinians, especially young ones, to see another kind of
Israeli, not only soldiers and settlers. Anything that can help them blow
off steam and relax. Perhaps instead of demonstrating in September
they'll go to the beach," the source said.

Most of the Palestinians visit Arab and mixed towns such as Haifa,
Jaffa and Acre, among other things, because of their beaches. "For
many of these youngsters, this is the first visit to the beach," says an
Israeli guide of West Bank groups.

Another popular destination is the Ramat Gan Safari, which has prepared
Arab-language tours to accommodate the numerous Palestinian visitors.

"They see things differently from Israeli children. They've never seen wild
animals like those in the safari," says Adam Yakobi, one of the safari
guides who works with Palestinian groups.

"In addition to ecologic explanations, we try to convey a message of
coexistence, between animals and human beings, and among people as
well. Politics does not come into it. It's a completely different atmosphere
and they're engrossed in looking at the animals," he said.

Refurbishing Tourist Site

When we receive visitors to Haifa, there is always plenty to show them. The city and its immediate environs are grossly undersold, the potential for increased tourism is enormous.

In addition, the City is figuring more importantly in the minds of new immigrants planning their relocation to Israel. We have recently received a number of new families our immediate neighborhood and the Anglo network has gone into action to assist in the inevitable problems that arise.

Now comes the news that one tourist location is undergoing extensive renovation, the Ein Hod artists village http://www.ein-hod.info/ is undergo a major upgrade improving accessibility and car parking facilities.

Ein Hod is one of the few villages in the world inhabited only by artists wholive and work in all facets of art and numerous events are held there every year.

Artwork, sculpture, music, theater and the plastic arts are all featured in this village.

A great place to visit

First the Russian tourists, Now the Chinese - Wow

The Israeli Tourism Ministry Director General has now signed a tourism cooperation agreement with the Director General of the Shanghai Tourism Ministry. In the agreement, the two sides declared the importance of tourism as a means of promoting ties between the two countries and agreed to work together to advance tourism between Israel and Shanghai, in addition to the exchange of information, advertising and the encouragement and advancement of investments and joint initiatives.

As with the Russians, visa restrictions were lifted and now for the Chinese there has been a promise to raise the visa issue with the Interior and Foreign Ministries in order to remove the obstacles and find solutions that will encourage the Chinese tourist to visit Israel.

“The Chinese tourism market holds enormous potential for Israel and, despite annual growth, we have not yet begun to realize this potential. The tourism industry in China in general and in Shanghai and Beijing in particular displays great interest in and is happy to cooperate with Israel. Simplifying the bureaucratic procedures and increasing airline traffic will facilitate a significant increase in incoming tourism from China.” said the Director General

Outgoing tourism from China over the last decade has recorded impressive and fast growth with great potential for future growth. In 2009, more than 40 million tourists traveled from China, about 15% traveling to Europe and the States. This represents a potential target audience for incoming tourism to Israel.

In 2009, 10,000 tourists visited Israel from China and about 7,000 have visited from January-August 2010 (an increase of over 100% on the same period last year and 26% more than 2008).

The Year 5770 is at an End

So we completed the year 5770 in the Hebrew calender and enter a period of reflection. Where are we at the end of the year? Well, for sure the effect of Israel's enemies barrage of incitement and deligitimisation is being felt but how effective it is remains in doubt.

The boycott campaigns in many areas of the world have been countered by Israel's supporters in their "buycott" efforts and this has paid off with many reporting that as soon nas there is notification of a boycott of a store, our supporters go into the store and buy up the stock, thus preventing any fall off in sales. Well done to those supporters.

Even at a national level, for example in Norway, where the Palestinian supporters are so active in so many spheres, the overall trade figures show an increase of 15%.

But there is also a lot more good news - we have weathered the global economic storm well and unemployment is already down to levels prior to the financial crisis. and what is more tourism is set to break the all time record. With the cancellation of visa requirements for Russia and Ukraine, the tourists are streaming in and with any luck we will beat the previous record year for tourism of 2.8 million and reach 3.2 million this year. Forecasts for the next 2-3 years suggest we can reach 5 million and that is going to have positive effect on unemployment levels.

And finally there is more to look forward to in the future with amazing finds of gas which is going to allow radical positive changes in society. Yes we have a lot to look forward to.

Zimmer Accomodation to be Graded

During the last decade, there was a significant growth in the rural tourism and zimmers (rural accommodation) industries. According to statistics, this industry is worth about 1 billion shekel a year. There are about 9,000 zimmers in Israel which mainly attract domestic tourism during weekends, holidays and vacations and therefore result in an annual occupancy rate of 38%.

As part of the Ministry for the Development of the Negev and Galilee's policy to develop and bring prosperity to the periphery, a need was identified to exploit the potential of rural accommodation both for domestic and incoming tourism and, as a result, the IBB initiative was developed, a grading system that facilitated for the first time an address for inquiries and an answer for every tourist wishing to stay in zimmers.

The IBB grading system checks 140 different criteria in line with international norms and grades the rooms according to standards A, B and C that determine the levels of quality and service.

The criteria include, among others, type of mattress/pillow; cleaning in non-conventional areas; distance of zimmer from chicken coop or cow shed; size of room; noise from the air conditioning; credible advertising/price correspondence.

The zimmer owners participate in a workshop and the rooms are checked by a consultant working on behalf of the Tourism Ministry. At the end of the process, they connect to an internet system that synchronizes online reservations (it is possible to see which zimmers are available) alongside the zimmer grading, price per night, nearby attractions and more. A sign bearing the zimmer grading is places on the zimmer door.

Recovery of Tourism to Israel Continues

2.5 million tourists visited Israel in the period Jan-Nov 2009, just 11% less than the same period last year. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, during November alone, 250,600 tourists visited Israel, 4% less than Nov 2008. The CBS statistics also show that the growth in the number of tourists arriving aboard cruise ships continues, with 9,300 arriving in November (3 times more than Nov 2008). The Tourism Minister noted that the statistics testify to the continuing trend of recovery from the economic crisis and this can also be seen in the unprecedented demand from entrepreneurs to invest in hotels.

37 entrepreneurs recently replied to the Tourism Ministry's invitation for grant allocations to establish new hotels and to return buildings once used as hotels to their former use. The Tourism Ministry allocated 300 million NIS to providing grants for entrepreneurs within the framework of the 2009-2010 work plan for this dual purpose. An extra 100 million NIS will be allocated to this program next year in line with demand.

For the first time, the program allows entrepreneurs to receive a grant for converting buildings previously used as hotels back to their former status as well as refurbishing old hotels and, in addition, improves the efficiency of the grant application procedure. In accordance with the Law for the Encouragement of Capital Investment in Israel, the Tourism Ministry offers a higher level of participation: 20% of the total investment excluding land costs. The grant requests are currently under review in accordance with the criteria redefined to ensure a more efficient procedure.

Haifa Planning for Boom

With one hotel already having undergone a major refit to bring it to 5 star rating and up to 600 other hotel rooms to be built, the Haifa municpality is expecting a boom in visitors.

Last year over 920 conferences or congresses were held in the city putting the hotels under great pressure to accomodate everyone. This is certainly encouraging news but tourists to this beautiful city are still a small proportion of the total tourist trade. Of course, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv have their attractions but it seems to me that few really know the splendour and beauty of Haifa. http://www.haifa.muni.il/Cultures/en-US . The beaches, the forests, the nature reserves, the bars and pubs and the cultural life offer something for everyone.

Whilst last year's war is fading in the memory of some, according to a business report by the local chamber of commerce http://www.haifachamber.com/HTMLs/article.aspx?C2004=12325&BSP=12226 it indicates that 41% of business owners say that the businesses have suffered as a result of the war whilst 49% say it has been unaffected and 4% actually say that business has improved.

Overall, things are looking up for the city with a record number of jobs on offer, up over 70% from last year. It really isn't a bad place to live!!