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The Jewish Chronicle

Analysis: Why this had to happen

May 13, 2009 12:21

ByJan Shure, Jan Shure

2 min read

The launch of direct flights to Eilat this winter by the resort’s leading hotel chain, Isrotel, is an acknowledgement of both the importance of the UK market to the Red Sea city, and also a realisation that if potential visitors have to endure lengthy and inconvenient journeys they will simply choose to go elsewhere.

The move by the London-based hotel company follows a steep decline in UK visitor numbers to Eilat, from 45,000 in 1997, to 5,000 in 2003, when the Iraq War erupted. That figure, barely recovered to 6,000 in 2004. Last winter, with Eilat holidays hit by the credit crunch and images of the Gaza conflict, the number of UK visitors to Eilat fell to its lowest level since the Iraq war.

But while both factors undoubtedly contributed to the fall, there was a widespread acknowledgement in the Israel tourism industry that the absence of regular direct flights were a key factor in the decision by Jewish visitors to desert the resort.

By January, with the Gaza war raging, direct flights into Ovda had fallen from 18 to four per week. Among the casualties was the direct flight from London, operated by Longwood Holidays, which cancelled all but two direct flights to Ovda, following a sharp fall in new bookings.