Subscribe to Print Edition | Mon., July 14, 2008 Tamuz 11, 5768 | | Israel Time: 01:00 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Car Rental Books Peres Conference Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

Price of vacations to jump after Tisha B'Av fast By Irit Rosenblum Tags: Tourism, Israel, Tisha B'Av The prices of vacations in Israel will shoot up by 15-20% starting August 10, compared to last summer, according to predictions of senior representatives of the tourism industry. The sources assert that the price hike is linked to the fact that this year the Tisha B'Av fast day will fall relatively late in the summer and the religious Jewish population prefers to take its summer holidays after the fast day commemorating the destruction of the Jewish Temples. Another reason is a lack of available hotel rooms, in particular in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Every year travel agents and others in the tourism industry check the calendar to determine the date of Tisha B'Av, the ninth day of the month of Av, which varies according to the Jewish calendar, as is true of all Jewish holidays. The three weeks before Tisha B'Av are considered a period of mourning, and start with the 17th of Tamuz fast day on July 20 this year. During this period, religious and traditional Jews avoid taking vacations. Once Tisha B'Av has passed, they tend to go on holiday en masse - creating the high season, for both demand and prices. Advertisement All this means that this year's high season will start August 11, and be squeezed into a relatively short time span compared to most years. In practice the high season ends on August 27 when families prepare for their kids to return to school. "When you consider that this year's school summer vacation started late, due to the teachers' strike, there is a very short period for Israeli tourism," said Gal Nagad, the head of the Eshet Tours branch in Bnei Brak. Such a constellation occurs every few years. "In such years all Israelis take a vacation at the same time, with the entire family. Many reserve their vacations right after the Passover holiday in order to guarantee themselves a place," explained Nagad. He said the types of vacations in demand - and not just the prices - also change after Tisha B'Av. However, the demand for overseas vacations during the period is not so acute, as the religious, and particularly the ultra-Orthodox, have special requirements that are not always easily met abroad, explained Nagad. They require kosher food, a quorum for daily prayers and prefer somewhere with a Jewish community. Most travel to Europe - Switzerland in particular - or the U.S. Related articles: Tourism to Israel breaks all-time record in May Failure: The state of tourism The tourists are coming Bookmark to del.icio.us   History undersea Israeli lifeguard stumbles upon ancient relic during morning swim. Elections, Hebrew style U.S. presidential hopefuls use Hebrew to woo the Jewish community.   1.   This also marks the end of the Yeshiva academic year 09:31  |  A thinking Jew 13/07/08

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