The Tourism Ministry will invest NIS 29 million in the coming years in upgrading, expanding and converting nine youth hostels around the country for tourists’ use, in order to answer the shortage of available hotel rooms and to provide a wider choice of overnight accommodation options. The NIS 144.5 million project will be implemented with the cooperation of the Youth Hostels Association, the Education Ministry and the Jewish Agency.

Within the framework of the project, the youth hostels at Masada, Beit Shean, Haifa, Mitzpe Ramon, Safed, Poriya and Tel Hai, will be improved and expanded. Two other youth hostels in Acre and Poriya, built in accordance with the multi-year plan, will be opened to the public in May and June.

The Tourism Ministry’s target of 4 million tourists by the end of this year and 5 million by 2015 requires the addition of another 15,000 rooms, particularly in the areas of demand such as Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and the Sea of Galilee area. In response to the shortage of rooms, the Investments Administration in the Tourism Ministry has created several tracks to assist the entrepreneur within the framework of the Law to Encourage Capital Investment, which allows for grants and financial assistance for the construction of new hotels  throughout Israel and with priority given to Jerusalem and the Sea of Galilee area.

In 2010, the Tourism Ministry approved grants for hotel investment to the value of about NIS 248 million and in 2011-2012 the overall budget is expected to reach NIS 400 million. 7,431 new rooms are expected to open in 2011-2012, and an additional 6,801 in 2013. In addition, the Tourism Ministry will open a special track within the next few weeks designed to encourage the conversion and expansion of rooms in existing hotels, with the objective of either returning these rooms to their original use as guestrooms and/or upgrading them. As already stated, the youth hostel project will also help alleviate the shortage of hotel rooms.

Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov: “The Tourism Ministry is working to expand the existing supply of hotel accommodation by upgrading rooms and offering a wider choice of room types, be it for the domestic or foreign tourist. Today, given the ministry’s target of 5 million tourists by 2015 and with the growing demand, it is essential that we utilize the existing supply, while encouraging entrepreneurs to build new hotels.”