President of the Hotel Association Avi Nissenkorn is asking for immediate solutions to the industry's crisis

The president of the Hotel Association, Avi Nissenkorn, sent an urgent letter to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Tourism Minister Yoel Rezbozov, asking for immediate solutions to the industry's crisis.
"I turn to you urgently in light of the continuing crisis in the tourism industry, and in light of the worsening situation, due to the deepening of the omicron crisis plaguing the economy. The first quarter of 2022 is unfortunately expected to be critical for the industry."
Nissenkorn claims that despite the aid promised to the industry last December, in which the government committed a dedicated aid of NIS 150 million for the hotels, the money has not yet been received. "As you know, the government's decision on further assistance to the industry has not yet been realized and in practice the hotels are in desperate need of immediate assistance and can no longer wait."
According to him, the direct consequence of the situation is the dismissal of workers: "These days, many dozens of hotels will lay off thousands of workers, who can not provide them with a livelihood, due to lack of occupancy and income. "In addition. This solution is only partial and unsatisfactory."
Today, about 29,000 people work in the industry, a steep decline from the pre-Corona days, when about 42,000 people worked there. According to data from the Hotels Association, the average salary in the industry is NIS 8,200 per month, including for senior managers. In the most junior positions, such as maids, waiters and kitchen workers, they usually earn the minimum wage (not including tips).
The industry began to see the light at the end of the tunnel when two weeks ago the government announced the opening of the skies to vaccinated or recovering tourists from orange countries (starting January 9), subject to PCR or antigen testing. However, according to Nissenkorn, the guidelines created uncertainty: "The announcement of the opening of the sky has created a cloud of uncertainty, against the background of designated restrictions for recovering tourists, an issue that has not yet been resolved, and other restrictions."
Now in order to improve the situation, Nissenkorn is asking the government to "act to release the grants immediately, remove existing restrictions on opening the skies, decide on a grant outline for the first quarter of 2022, tax breaks and another immediate solution to the workers' issue."