Hotels and flight reservations for upcoming spring and Passover holiday appear to be solidly booked, after a dismal summer and winter. The solid bookings assume, of course, a stable security situation in Israel.
Most airlines report very few available seats for Passover, since people took care to make reservations long in advance. Some airlines allowed reservations for Passover to be made back in December.
Continental Airlines senior country director for Israel Avi Friedman said that most flights in both directions on the Tel Aviv-New York route are almost full. Visitors to Israel will include Christian pilgrim groups arriving to celebrate Easter.
Lufthansa also reports almost solid bookings for Passover flights. The airline believes that if demand increases, it may add a daily flight in the days ahead of the Seder. Passengers will include Americans and French arriving to hold the holiday in Israel.
Delta Airlines also has only a few seats on its Tel Aviv-Atlanta route.
Israeli airlines are also seeing high demand. El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (TASE: ELAL) has added 22 special flights for Passover: six to North America and 16 to Western Europe. Other popular destinations are Bangkok and Beijing.
Israir Airlines and Tourism Ltd. has added 20 flights during Passover. The airline estimates that it will carry 50,000 passengers to various destinations in Europe and the US during the holiday. Popular destinations are Crete, Rhodes and Antalya. The airline is also adding flights to Sicily, Berlin and Barcelona.
Gulliver Travels reports that 80% of regular flights to Europe and the US, and 60% of charter flights to Europe are fully booked. Flights to Mediterranean basin are 40% occupied, six weeks before the holiday.
Israel Hotel Association general manager Shmuel Zurel expects high demand for hotels. He said that since Passover was characterized by family visits rather than group tours, room occupancy rates cannot be predicted, because families are more sensitive to security incidents. He said guests will include many tourists as well as Israeli families who elect to hold the Seder at a hotel.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on February 12, 2007
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