A new report presented at a London conference last week showed that investors are more interested and more confident in the Israeli market.
The conference was held by Israel's Tourism Ministry in conjunction with HVS London, and aimed at recruiting investors in Israel’s hotel industry.
The independent report, presented by the international consultancy firm HVS, was titled the "Israel Hotel Market Overview" and was presented to representatives from international hotel chains.
"In 2017, the Minister of Tourism approved grants for 35 projects throughout the country for a total sum equal to about $50 million," the report said. "In total, requests for some 2,570 rooms were approved in 2017, an increase of 33% on the previous year, suggesting investors are showing a growing interest and more confidence in the strength and potential of the Israeli market."
The report comes after several consecutive record highs in incoming tourism over the last 19 months – and a shortfall in hotel rooms to meet the growing demand. 2017 was Israel’s best ever year for incoming tourism with 3.612 million tourists, 25% more than 2016.
Participating in the conference were representatives from international hotel chains including, among others: Hilton, Four Seasons, Accor, Accor Luxury, Movenpick, Rosewood, Wyndham, Radisson, Mandarin Oriental, Benjamin West and STR.
Attending the conference were Israeli Ambassador to the UK Mark Regev, together with the Tourism Ministry's Economy, Investments and Budget Department Director Avishai Bar-Osher and Investor Relations Manager Lorin Maugery.
Speaking at the conference, Bar-Osher and Maugery presented the benefits and incentives offered by the Tourism Ministry to entrepreneurs and expanded on the economic feasibility of investing in hotels in Israel. Benefits include shortened planning tracks, grants of up to 33% of the total investment, and grants for converting office buildings int hotels.