Yossi Fattal, Director General of the Israel Tourism Bureau resents the government approach

The spread of corona virus in the world and in Israel is causing many industries to be destroyed and mainly the leisure, tourism, aviation and entertainment sectors have been affected.
Yossi Fattal, Director General of the Israel Tourism Bureau, resents the Israeli government, which is not preparing to end the Corona crisis. Unfortunately, the Treasury has decided to morn on the incoming tourism industry whilestill alive "
In the Finance Committee meeting this morning, Fattal noted that tourism marketing must be continued now, as is done in most countries in the world, in order not to lose billions of dollars in future revenue to the Israeli economy after the Corona crisis.
"The Treasury's position on the tourism industry, as expressed today by the Finance Committee, is not rooted in facts and figures as expected. The Treasury's assumption that there will be no cross-border tourism in the next year contradicts the assumption of work, operations and budgets of most of the world's countries. Insights on tourism that contradict working documents of world economic institutions, "said Yossi Fattal, executive director of the Israel Tourism Organizers' Bureau, which participated in the Knesset Finance Committee this morning.
"We hold the potential of hundreds of millions of dollars in existing orders in the coming fall and winter system and next year. With the exception of the Israeli Ministry of Finance, the rest of the world are working and investing in the outbreak of the crisis.
Evidence - On Monday morning at a commission meeting, United Airlines announced it plans to resume its flights to Israel. In addition, the Chinese Heinan company also announced it will resume its flights around October, as soon as Israel approves it.
"In order to realize the business potential of hundreds of millions of dollars that Israel is already investing and will need even more in the coming months - together with the Ministry of Tourism, we have proposed not to paralyze the marketing activity, which is essentially the maintenance of existing reservations and their current updates. More than ever, today it is critical to keep in touch with Customers abroad, examining new sensitivities and preferences that will arise from the crisis and their adaptation to the aviation picture and all the new tourism that will be. "
"Unfortunately, the Treasury has decided to sit seven on the incoming tourism industry while alive," Fattal noted. "Arriving tourists to Israel in a few months' time will be possible provided that the organizers work on it already today in the backing of marketing plans, promotion and discourse with customers abroad through and in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism. However, the Ministry of Finance decided to completely paralyze the Ministry of Tourism activities and within the organizers activity Tourism entering Israel. "
The Ministry of Tourism was the only one to present to the Finance Committee economic data of the world-wide happenings and actions taken by leading governments that, as far as the Korna issues are concerned, Israel endeavors to compare itself to them. We should also compare them with tourism, otherwise we will lose competition and tourists will flee to countries such as Cyprus and Greece - which will lead to a loss of billions of shekels for the Israeli economy in the next tourist year. "
Fattal further added: "Justice Forer Committee was right to demand that the Ministry of Finance let the Ministry of Tourism manage tourism and not freeze the activity, thereby creating damage. We hope that the Treasury will return to the requested logic based on facts and figures, which prove the true potential that exists in us and also passed examples to it. "
It is important to add that the inbound tourism industry is the sixth largest export industry, producing hundreds of thousands of jobs in Israel. The chaining of us and beyond is wide - road guides, bus drivers, restaurant owners and attractions, hotel workers and in fact every professional tourist encounters when he arrives in Israel. Inbound tourism puts a lot of money into the country and especially in the peripheral communities. "We are the remedy for the day after the corona," emphasizes Fattal. "As it may seem strange that we want to work now, at the height of the crisis - that really makes no sense. The tourism industry is working for months to come. We see worldwide efforts by countries to bring tourists after the crisis. If we don't play the game, we will lose billions of shekels in tourism Next. "
The inbound tourism bureau has about 1,600 organizers with connections and expertise to bring tourists to the country. They pledge that with a relatively low investment of tens of millions of shekels that will allow them to work now and maintain future orders, they will return ten times more to the state coffers.
"I urge the Treasury to look forward and not just put plasters and urge them - let us work! In the economic crisis we are in, the State of Israel cannot afford to give up the enormous potential of inbound tourism," Fattal concludes.