Subscribe to Print Edition | Mon., September 15, 2008 Elul 15, 5768 | | Israel Time: 02:37 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Haaretz Toolbar Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Car Rental Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

Two years after war, Haifa reclaims status as tourist hot spot By Irit Rosenblum Tags: Second Lebanon War  Tourists seem to have forgotten the fear of Hezbollah-launched Katyusha rockets that kept them away from the north of the country during the Second Lebanon War in 2006, and are now flocking to Haifa in such droves that the northern coastal city is struggling to provide them with a place to sleep. Tourism has increased by 30% in Haifa since last summer, mostly due to traffic from businessmen, individual tourists and groups of Christian and Bahai pilgrims. In addition, the average occupancy at city hotels during the first months of 2008 - 65% - has outpaced the national average, 62%, for the first time. Haifa hotels saw some 120,000 bookings between January and May, compared to 93,000 bookings countrywide. The growth is so marked that Haifa is planning to build an additional 1,800 rooms in 10 hotels to keep up with the tourists. The spurt in tourism is expected to continue, with hotel occupancy in Haifa expected to reach between 75% and 80% by the end of the year, said Haifa Hotel Association director Adi Maor. Advertisement "Haifa is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and has so far not succeeded in joining the leading tourism cities," Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav told reporters last week. "In the past four years we have made a concerted marketing effort to promote this, the largest city in Israel's north, in order to make Haifa a main tourism site for visitors to the north. We have prepared programs that offer tourists day trips to Nazareth and Tiberias, with their sleeping base in Haifa." Since the end of the Second Lebanon War in the summer of 2006, the city and the Tourism Ministry have invested some NIS 10 million in promoting tourism and tourism-related businesses in Haifa. The average tourist stay in Haifa has increased from two nights to four nights, said Moshe Zurich, who heads the Haifa Tourist Board. The longer stay, he said, does not just benefit the hotels. "Every night that a tourist stays provides employment for three workers during the day," said Zurich. Haifa has also increased its presence on the conventions map, and will be hosting more than 100 conventions lasting three or four nights, including tours for participants. As part of a program to promote domestic tourism, the tourist board is launching a NIS 600,000 campaign this weekend, its biggest ever, in which it will offer free activities to guests who stay for two or more nights. But there is a cloud to the silver lining: The tourism industry is doing so well in Haifa that there is a shortage of hotel rooms to house all the city's visitors. "We urgently need another 1,000 hotel rooms, to supplement the existing 1,500," said Zurich, noting that the procedural infrastructure has been prepared for an additional 1,800 rooms in 10 hotels that are in various stages of planning and construction. The plans include a 40-room hotel in Haifa's German Colony, due to open by the end of this year, 250 rooms in the Castra Centre and 200 rooms on the former Marcus army base; all are currently in the tenders stage. Other plans in the works include an additional 200 rooms in the Egged compound, 400 rooms in Hof Carmel and 100 rooms in the Carmelite region. Related articles: Striking when prices are 'rock-bottom' Did prehistoric man come from Haifa? U.S. checking possibility of pumping oil from northern Iraq to Haifa, via Jordan Bookmark to del.icio.us   Beatle terror Islamic militant leader threatens to kill former Beatle, Sir Paul McCartney, over Israel gig. Fugee Fridays Every Friday, volunteers bring donated food from Carmel Market to African refugees.   1.   Three Cheers! 12:43  |  Haifa Resident 30/06/08   2.   Lovely city 13:59  |  jackie 30/06/08   3.   Haifa, beautiful city of culture 15:22  |  Gilbert 30/06/08   4.   Beautiful Haifa! 15:35  |  Maurice 30/06/08   5.   Ridiculous hotel policies in Israel 16:00  |  Vernon Marriott 30/06/08   6.   Haifa hotels 20:13  |  larry 30/06/08   7.   Haifa 00:09  |  Joel Fridjohn 02/07/08   8.   Haifa 10:58  |  Darrell 03/07/08   9.   Tourism in Haifa 08:16  |  Stanley 27/08/08

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