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Presentation Contents Executive Summary Study Objectives Current Situation Tourism Economics / Sizing Market Demand Travel Trends and the Reasons People Travel Domestic Tourism Marketing Strategic Plan Research Group 3 16 21 33 67 85 100 107 142 176
Executive Summary
Study Objective
This study is researched and evaluated from an economic perspective, detailing strategies to increase revenues; determine where best to invest; and to examine what capital improvements will yield the highest returns. Israels tourism economy is comprised of a system of inbound visitor revenues and outbound domestic expenditures. The study focuses on `net tourism revenues the difference between the total tourism spend in country and that spent by Israelis on outbound travel.
From a `net revenue perspective, clearly the first priority is addressing domestic tourism expenditures. This is true for several reasons:
Domestic in-country tourism expenditures currently represent 65% of hotel person-nights. In projected models at three million tourists, they will still represent the majority of person-nights. Israel has undergone periodic market volatility and may continue to do so. It is economically imperative to secure a growing domestic tourism base to dampen the economic impacts of future tourism volatility.
Israel has done little to address the long-term needs of domestic tourism. While inbound tourism has doubled since 1977 to 2.0 million, outbound tourism has increased over eleven times to 3.7 million. As a result Israel has moved over the last decade from a net tourism importer of funds to a net exporter a net loss of $1.1 billion USD in 2005 alone.
In addressing domestic tourism, the key to Israels long-term success at building a truly compelling internal marketing destination is to fully develop Eilat. And the key to increasing domestic tourism expenditures is to greatly enhance the infrastructure and attraction base in Eilat. Thus, from an economic point of view, Israels first tourism priority is to develop Eilat as a long-term compelling domestic destination capable of retaining a larger share of the domestic tourism spend.
Addressing the inbound tourism issue, the studys visitor analysis set out to determine what is required of Israels tourism sector to attract and service 3.0 to 4.0 million international tourists. The study addressed infrastructure capacity development and investment strategy.
Finally, in terms of overall tourism development strategy, the study set out to answer a set of priority strategic questions:
1)
What are the primary issues confronting Israel as it sets out to expand its tourism economy? What is the best strategy to increase overall tourism revenues? What are the principal issues relating to the competitiveness of Israels tourism products, pricing and sizing? Where should the tourism industry investment and growth strategies? focus its
2)
3)
4)
5)
Study Findings
Our research and analysis clearly demonstrates that Israel can significantly expand the economic role that tourism plays in the overall economy. In order to expand its tourism base from 2.0 to 4.0 million inbound visitors, Israel will need to adopt a series of tourism development initiatives. Promote/ incentivize domestic tourism Significantly increase attractions, entertainment and shopping at Tel Aviv and Eilat Increase the number of hotel rooms by 8,750 with 4,000 of them required in Eilat Enhance the accommodation infrastructure in rural destinations to increase domestic tourism (95% of rural tourism throughout the world is domestic)
MCM GROUP INTERNATIONAL
10
Because of Israels size, level of economic development, tourism infrastructure base, and geographical location in the Eastern Mediterranean, Israel is not a low-cost, tour driven, mass market leisure destination. Israel should target the upper one-third of the traveling public and not the mass market middle third. Israel needs to do this both because it cannot compete directly against mass market tour destinations in the eastern Mediterranean in pricing or mass market leisure appeal; nor are its target market segments mass market.
11
Israels growth needs to be driven by five market segments: Jews visiting friends and family and solidarity visitors Christian Pilgrims Regional discount/ charter leisure package tourists for regional holidays ( Eilat-based ) Primary niche market travelers Business/ Conference/ Professional Because of the religious and conservative nature of West Jerusalem, the community is not conducive for creating significantly expanded revenue producing programs/ facilities for tourism. Infrastructure focus should be in Eilat and Tel Aviv.
12
Allowing low cost carriers to land at Ben-Gurion airport will have a significant negative impact on Israels balance of tourism trade. Using Eilat as a port of entry for low-cost airlines will most likely have a neutral net economic impact but increase inbound tourism, particularly for regional tours. Israel needs to create a product positioning that appeals to each of its target markets. For example: Eilat, Petra, Mt. Sinai, Sharm El Sheikh for the iconic adventure traveler Mt. Sinai, Eilat, Dead Sea, Jerusalem, Galilee for the Christian pilgrim Tel Aviv, Eilat, Sharm El Sheikh for those seeking Sun, Fun and Nightlife
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Focus first on supporting and growing domestic tourism. Develop a segmented marketing strategy not mass-market directed. Pursue an upper-third price-positioning. Increase the quantity of hotel rooms, with the majority being developed in Eilat. Upgrade the overall product stock throughout Israel to enhance per cap expenditures.
14
Do not undertake a low-cost carrier offering at the Ben Gurion airport. Pursue Eilat as the port of entry for LCCs. Develop diversified distribution channels to allow specific target market segmentation. Provide a $150.0 million tourism marketing budget over 5 years, starting the first year with a $35.0 million expenditure.
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Study Objectives
16
To determine what tourism strategies will yield Israel the highest return on investment over the next decade.
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Studys Visitor Analysis To determine what is required of Israels tourism sector to attract and service 3.0 to 4.0 million international tourists:
18
Israels tourism economy is comprised of a system of inbound visitor revenues and outbound domestic expenditures. This study addresses the strategies that will yield the highest net tourism revenues on the minimum tourism investment. The study is researched and evaluated from an economic perspective, detailing strategies to increase revenues; determine where best to invest; and examine what specific capital improvements will yield the highest returns.
19
Study Approach The study set out to answer several key questions:
What are the key issues confronting Israel as it sets out to expand its tourism economy. What is the best tourism revenues. strategy to increase overall
What are the principal issues relating to the competitiveness of Israels tourism products, pricing, and sizing. Where should the tourism industry focus its investment and growth strategies? How should Israels tourism products be positioned and marketed?
20
Current Situation
21
Over the last decade, Israels Tourism balance of trade has gone from a positive $463.5 million (1992) to a negative $1,125.5 million by 2005. Per Capita Expenditures of tourists has fallen 48% (adjusted for inflation) in just 6 years. The Eastern Mediterranean destination markets are taking an increasingly larger share of Israels European target markets. In short, the current national tourism development strategies are leading to a long-term erosion of the industry. A thorough rethinking needs to be undertaken to ensure sustained economic growth in this vital national sector.
22
Because of Israels highly educated population it was able to promote effective national economic growth through high technology manufacturing and knowledgebased enterprises. During this same period many of its Mediterranean competitors did not possess these educational advantages and sought to develop their tourism industry as an alternative strategy for increasing their GDP. Like Israel, many of these countries faced internal conflicts and political instability but despite that achieved significant tourism growth because it was targeted as a national priority.
23
There has been a dramatic decrease in Israels balance of tourism trade over the last decade. Between 1999-2005, the deficit of outbound to inbound tourists increased 894,000. A shift in the pattern of five countries account for all the difference. Israel went from a positive tourism balance of 15,600 in 1999 with the United States to a negative balance of 626,500. Germany increased its negative balance to 191,500 tourists over the past 6 years.
24
Israel went from a positive balance with the United Kingdom of 24,300 in 1999 to a negative balance of 56,100 in 2005. Israel went from a positive balance of 8,500 with the Netherlands to a negative balance of 69,600. In 2005 Israel had 3.77 million domestic departures and 1.91 million inbound arrivals.
25
Inbound tourism has doubled from 1.0 million to 2.0 million, an annualized growth rate of 2.6 percent. Outbound tourism has risen from 325,000 to 3.7 million during the same period increase of 11.4 times, or an annualized growth rate of 9.5%. Outbound tourism has risen 3.65 times faster than inbound tourism over the period.
26
Because of the past periodic volatility of international tourism, Israel needs to ensure the financial viability of its tourism industry by prioritizing its strategic planning around the domestic market. Domestic tourism has been a majority share of hotel person-nights since 1998 and accounted for 65% of person-nights in 2005. Although it will certainly be a goal of any national tourism policy to increase international tourism to its old highs of 59% or higher, Israel must first define and secure a long-term strategy for domestic tourism to provide a financial underpinning for the industry. Our economic model shows that at 3.0 million international visitors, the majority of person-nights (51%) will still be taken by domestic tourists. At 4.0 million international tourists, we project that 46% of person nights will still be accounted for by domestic tourism.
27
Rising standards of living and decreasing air fares have doubled the size of global tourism on the demand size. On the supply side, the number of hotel rooms have more than doubled; globalization is standardizing values and quality; and specialization and market segmentation are driving new patterns of tourism. Tourists are becoming increasingly demanding and more experienced. Sun and Sea destinations are being commoditized and face increasing downward price pressures. Contemporary tourists demand more experience than traditional sun and sea offerings usually provide.
28
High value customers are increasingly more difficult to attract and retain as competitive markets increasingly expand. There is an overall trend of increasing price sensitivity as the global market expands its offerings.
29
Israel is surrounded by Mass Market Mediterranean destinations which will exert long-term price pressures on the Israeli tourism products. Because of the size of these competitive markets (Egypt, Turkey, Greece, Tunisia, Morocco), and Israels level of economic development, Israel will not be able to effectively price against the offerings of international Mass Market tour operators in either the low or mid-range markets. Despite pricing differences, product parity is occurring rapidly throughout the region, with tourists expectation on the rise.
30
Income Positive or from Negative Balance Tourists of Trade 1,911.0 2,732.3 1,033.9 1,769.71 $463.5 + $448.9 + $1,910.9 $1,125.5 -
Represents 3.6% of revenues from exports of all goods and services in 2005
31
Per Capita receipts from incoming tourists fell from $1,563 in 1999 to just $865 in 2005. The tourism demographic changed during the same period with more arrivals staying with friends and relatives with fewer in higher-priced hotels.
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33
Tourism Economics and Sizing The goal of this analysis is to determine the economic requirements and consequences on the tourism sector of achieving the 3.0 million and 4.0 million level of international tourists. The issues surrounding those levels include:
The most effective strategy to turn the country from a net exporter of tourism funds to a net importer. Where to focus bi-lateral tourism programs to most significantly effect balance of tourism trade. How should national macro-economic forces that significantly influence tourism patterns be addressed?
34
Tourism Economics and Sizing (cont.) The issues surrounding those levels include:
How best to encourage/incentivize domestic tourism growth. What key markets can most likely become feeders for inbound tourism growth. How many new hotel rooms are required and where should they be located to appropriately service 3.0-4.0 million inbound tourists. What is the most financially reasonable size of the national tourism marketing budget?
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Macro-Tourism Economics
From a national macro-economic perspective, tourism policies should be designed to create a net positive balance of tourism trade. In a general sense this means increasing inflows of tourism revenues and reducing outflows. Thus the national tourism policy needs to address the entire tourism system focusing equally on how to increase both domestic as well as international tourism revenues.
36
From the perspective of national balance of trade payments from 1999 to 2005, Israel has lost significant ground. The four countries that account for nearly all of that loss are the United States (57%), Germany (17%), United Kingdom (7.1%) and the Netherlands (6.9%), for a total of 88.0% of the tourism trade balance loss. Only two countries had an Israeli-improved balance of tourism trade over this period France and Turkey.
37
The national balance of payments accounts can be significantly impacted by tourism expenditures. The tourism sector in Israel has moved from a net revenue producer to a net revenue exporter:
Expenditures of Israelis Travel Abroad (mil $) $1,436.5 $2,119.6 $2,944.8 $2,795.8 $2,895.2
Income from Tourists to Israel (mil $) $1,911.0 $2,192.9 $1,033.9 $1,552.2 $1,769.7
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Country U.S.A. France United Kingdom Germany Italy Russia Netherlands Spain Belgium Switzerland Turkey Greece Cyprus
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Demand Analysis Israel Visitor Arrival Countries of Origin Comparing 2000 to 2005 (000s)
Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Country Italy Germany Netherlands United Kingdom Spain Sweden Finland Belgium Denmark Austria Visitor Loss 101.9 67.6 38.2 34.6 20.9 19.3 17.5 12.2 11.3 8.5
Country 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 U.S.A. Germany Turkey Italy Netherlands Greece Spain United Kingdom Switzerland France
2005 Trade Balance 626.5 265.2 222.1 94.8 69.6 62.5 60.4 56.1 50.0 39.9 -
2005 Trade Balance 15.6 + 73.7 281.9 66.4 8.5 + 98.9 21.7 24.3 + 20.2 40.3 -
Change 642.1 191.5 59.8 + 28.4 78.1 36.4 38.7 80.4 29.8 0.4 +
Rank 1 2 4 5
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Country 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 U.S.A. France United Kingdom Italy Netherlands Germany Spain Russia Canada Poland Belgium Turkey Cypress Greece
The tourism market to Israel is relatively narrow from a national perspective. Just three countries provide 50% of the visitors with ten providing 75%. From a perspective of growth opportunities, six countries provide 70% of the most likely growth market. But to achieve a million additional tourists, it will require some type of targeted marketing in twenty nations.
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ISRAEL TOURISM ANALYSIS Key Markets for Expanding Israels Inbound Tourism By Growth Potential 2005 (000s)
Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Country U.S.A. Italy Germany Nordic Countries United Kingdom Jordan France Netherlands Spain Mexico Russia Belgium Ukraine Turkey Canada Others TOTAL 2.0 Million 513.0 70.0 108.0 47.0 167.0 23.0 337.0 50.0 45.0 24.0 66.0 28.0 28.0 16.0 56.0 416.0 2,000.0 3.0 Million 700.0 205.0 210.0 121.0 240.0 94.0 405.0 109.0 79.0 46.0 90.0 48.0 46.0 29.0 67.0 511.0 3,000.0 Growth 187.0 135.0 92.0 74.0 73.0 71.0 68.0 59.0 34.0 26.0 24.0 20.0 18.0 13.0 11.0 95.0 1,000.0
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Total tourism spending has remained flat, comparing 2000 to 2005, with 33.3 billion NIS spent in 2000 and 33.0 billion in 2005. Comparing tourism spending patterns over this period, we see a significant shift in sector spending: Shopping Food Accommodations Entertainment In-Country Travel Excursions 2000 18.3% 30.0% 20.0% 16.9% 8.2% 1.8% 2005 27.7% 27.4% 20.0% 11.9% 6.8% 1.8%
Shopping is increasingly becoming a key travel experience not only within Israel, but as a component of all major destinations.
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Currently Israel has 44,026 hotel rooms. The vast majority of person-nights is spent in Eilat (33.1%), followed by West Jerusalem, with 13.7% market share, and Tel Aviv at 11.3%. At 3.0 million inbound tourists, Israel will need to build 2,437 more rooms. At the 4.0 million level, 8,750 more hotel rooms will be required. Because of the structure of the market, Eilat will continue to be the key city in the tourism sector, needing to add 4,000 hotel rooms and increase its total market share to 27.6% of all rooms (14,563) at the 4.0 million level.
47
West Jerusalem will need to add 1,500 rooms at the 4.0 million level, bringing its total to 8,669, representing 16.4% of the available room market. Tel Aviv will need to add 1,750 rooms at the 4.0 million level, bringing it to 7,600 rooms and 14.4% of the market. At the 3.0 million level, because of over-capacity in most regions, only Eilat and the Dead Sea will need to expand room inventory.
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3.0 Million
12,500.0 11,250.0 47.4% 23,750 3.75 5,600.0 18% 2,025.0 7,625.0 32.1% 2.3 12,000 75.7%
4.0 Million
12,500.0 16,000.0 28,500.0 4.0 5,700.0 22% 3,520.0 9,220.0 32.3% 2.1 14,563 82.6% 460% 146% 56.1%
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ISRAEL TOURISM ANALYSIS Hotel Room Growth Analysis By Person-Night (000s) (cont.)
Current 2.0 Million
Israeli Tourists International Tourists TOTAL Days per Visit West Jerusalem Domestic International % of Visits Room-Nights Total Person-Nights Percent of Total Tourism Market Room Requirements: Occupants per Room Rooms Occupancy Rate 12,303.9 6,783.1 19,087.0 3.55 772.1 26.6% 1,847.2 2,619.9 13.7% 1.9 7,169 52.8% 35.5%
3.0 Million
4.0 Million
12,500.0 16,000.0 28,500.0 4.0 850.0 30% 4,800.0 5,650.0 19.8% 2.1 8,669 85.0% 460% 146% 56.1%
12,500.0 11,250.0 47.4% 23,750 3.75 800.0 28% 3,150.0 3,950.0 16.6% 2.0 7,169 75.4%
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3.0 Million
600.0 23.0% 2,587.5 3,187.5 13.4% 1.7 6,350 80.8% 1,100.0 5.5% 618.8 1,718.8 7.3% 2.3 3,961 51.7%
3.0 Million
550.0 5.0% 618.8 1,168.8 4.9% 2.2 2,376 61.2%
500
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3.0 Million
1,800.0 5.0% 562.5 2,362.5 9.9% 2.0 4,415 73.3% 2,200.0 23.0% 2,587.5 4,787.5 20.1%
1,000
15
2.2 2.1 10,192 10,192 58.5% 74.5% 12,650.0 12,150.1 24,800.1 MCM GROUP INTERNATIONAL
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3.0 Million
12,000 25.8% 7,169 15.4% 6,350 13.7% 3,961 8.5% 2,376 5.2% 4,415 9.5% 10,192 21.9% 46,463
4.0 Million
14,563 27.6% 8,669 16.4% 7,600 14.4% 3,691 7.5% 2,876 5.4% 4,915 9.4% 10,192 19.3% 52,776
Growth
4,000 1,500 1,750 0 500 1,000 0 8,750
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The first task in assessing tourism policy is to address the issues relating to domestic tourism. Domestic tourism provides the bulk of visits and revenues in most major countries in the world. Currently domestic tourism provides nearly 65% of hotel person-nights in Israel and is key to long-term stability of the tourism sector. In most large nations like the United States, China and India, it provides 95% or more of tourism visits. In the worlds largest tourism destination, France, only 22.7% of tourism visits are international.
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Country China India Brazil United States France United Kingdom Israel Germany
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Israels economic reform package has created a vibrant economy with long-term positive growth potential. The Shekel has performed favorably against the Euro over the last decade. Other competitive destination currencies have not fared as well, such as Turkey, Cyprus and Eastern Europe. The result has been the transformation of Israel from a relatively inexpensive destination in comparison to its competitors a decade ago to a relatively expensive destination today.
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The mid-term outlook for these regional economies will allow them to continue to exert price-pressures on competitive tourism products such as Israel. International tour operators sell a narrow range of mass market products in the region (Turkey, Greece, Egypt, Tunisia, Cyprus) that do not necessarily match the long-term objectives nor economy of Israel. Because of the competitive pricing structure and limited capacity of Israels tourism infrastructure (and particularly the fragile ecosystems of the Galilee and Red Sea), Israel will most likely need to move to higher value sectors of the market.
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The Israeli tourism industry has not upgraded its accommodation infrastructure or continually invested in attractions to drive domestic tourism growth. Regional competitor countries like Turkey, Greece, Cyprus and Croatia have invested heavily in modernizing their tourism offering. Over the last five years, Croatia (at 4.5 mil population) for example, has invested over 600 million Euro in tourism infrastructure. Packaged holiday travel throughout the Eastern Mediterranean is now at parity or even less expensive than a domestic Israel holiday. The result has been a growth rate in domestic person nights of only a little over 2.0%. Domestic tourism revenues have remained flat.
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Macro-Economic Influences
Tourism travel is price sensitive. It has been demonstrated that increased inflation rates and changes in prices caused by higher taxes negatively impacts tourism visits. The ability of one country to attract tourists from another is often determined by price structure. When the Thai Bhat collapsed in 1997, for example, Australian outbound flows increased 52.8% and Indonesian arrivals to Australia fell by 28.4% in the same period. Price changes causes the substitution of one destination for another. When the Won fell in Korea in 1998, for example, its tourism jumped 10.0% that year.
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Price Index 1994-2003 Exchange Rate Versus Dollar Israel 2000-2004 Meals in Restaurants +13.6% Hotels - 3.6% Air Fares International +44.4% Shekel Exchange Rate Versus Euro 1995-1999 increased 33.3% 1995-2004 increased 68.1% 2000-2004 increased 26.1% 1995-2004 Versus Cypriot +2% Versus Polish Zloty -9% Versus Turkish Lira -66%
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Job Generation
Israel has 2.5 million employed (2005) with 3.0% directly or indirectly employed as a result of tourism (76,667). With a 3.3% annual increase in the labor force, at 3.0 million inbound tourists, approximately 115,000 people will be directly or indirectly employed as a result of tourism, raising the tourism sector to 4.0% of the National Labor force. At 4.0 million inbound tourists, 153,333 will be employed as a direct or indirect result tourism. This will represent nearly 5.0% of the work force.
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3.0 million visitors 4,818 1,147 14,455 75,000 40,000 115,000 38,333
4.0 million visitors 5,423 1,292 21,692 100,000 53,333 153,333 76,666
The short answer is it should be large enough to efficiently achieve its marketing objectives. The inbound side of those objectives are to first reach 3.0 million (assess successes and failures) and to launch a strategy to achieve 4.0 million. The domestic side of those objectives is to devote sufficient funds to stimulate a higher domestic tourism growth rate (35% annually). Comparing the regional and European National Marketing budgets, countrys spend an average of $2 to $4 per arrival. Countrys like Italy are highly efficient at $.89/ arrival, France $1.26, Turkey $1.97, Jordan $4.44, and Croatia $3.53 are in the mid-range.
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Several countries have relatively underperforming strategies such as Egypt ($5.85/ arrival), Ireland ($6.30) and Lebanon ($6.61) Israel currently spends $17.37 per arrival. If Israel continues this level of efficiency on a going forward level, with 4 million tourists, it would require a budget of $68.0 million. By developing a more targeted and efficient marketing strategy the cost per arrival should drop to the $6.00 level. Over the five years of the new program, marketing costs per visitor should be planned to be reduced from $15.00 year 1 ($35.0 million budget) to $6.00 by year 5 ($25.0 million budget). As various countries account for direct tourism marketing budgets in different manner, the following is an estimate of tourism marketing budgets for various countries.
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Country Spain France Britain Italy Egypt Turkey * Israel Israel Goal Jordan Croatia Lebanon (2004) Ireland
* estimate
Tourism Budget $ 136.0 $ 955.5 $ 48.1 $ 32.5 $ 48.0 $ 40.0 $ 33.0 $ 50.0 $ 10.0 $ 30.0 $ 9.6 $ 46.0
Tourist Arrivals 55.6 30.0 30.0 36.5 8.2 20.3 1.9 4.0 3.0 8.5 1.3 7.3
Tourism Budget Expenditure Expenditure (bil) Per Tourist $ 47.9 $ 30.7 $ 30.7 $ 35.4 $ 6.9 $ 18.2 $ 1.9 $ 4.0 $ 1.4 $ 7.5 $ 5.4 $ 4.7 $ 2.45 $ 1.60 $ 1.60 $ 0.89 $ 5.85 $ 1.97 $ 17.37 $ 12.50 $ 3.33 $ 3.53 $ 6.61 $ 6.30
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Market Demand
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Turkey is the major competitor to Israel. Half of Turkeys visitors originate in three of Israels target markets Germany, United Kingdom, Russia. Turkey is forecast to become the overwhelming destination of choice in the twelve nation Adriatic and Eastern Mediterranean region by 2020, capturing one-third of all visitors to the region with 27.0 million tourists. The other key regional competitor is Egypt as it draws nearly half of its arrivals from five of Israels target markets: 1) Germany; 2) France; 3) Italy; 4) United Kingdom; 5) Russia
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These five markets are critical to Israels success as they represent five of the top ten highest tourism spenders with 30.0% of the worlds total expenditures. Germany is 1st; United Kingdom 3rd; France 5th; Italy 6th; and Russia 9th. Thus a key issue is the long-term product positioning against Turkey and Egypt.
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In the Mediterranean, the leading tourism growth countries are forecast to be Egypt (7.4%), Turkey (5.3%), Morocco (4.9%), Croatia (4.3%). In 2010, France, Spain and Italy will still control the overall Mediterranean market with 76.6% of visitors. From a Middle East destination perspective, the largest growth markets in addition to Egypt are forecast to be Jordan (6.9%), Bahrain (6.9%); Dubai (6.6%), and Saudi Arabia (5.3%). Israel is forecast by the WTO to make the top ten Mediterranean destinations with 3.0 million visitors by 2010, or 1.1% of the regional market.
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The Fastest growing Mediterranean tourists destination are primarily low-cost, high-experience destinations: Turkey Egypt Tunisia Morocco Croatia The slowest growing are relatively high-cost destinations: Spain Italy France Greece
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Leading Mediterranean Tourists Destinations 2010 Total (000s) 88,237 61,798 43,881 16,068 14,315 8.693 7,454 6,305 5,465 3,055 Market % 32.8 27.5 16.3 6.4 5.3 3.2 2.8 2.3 2.0 1.1 2010-2020 Growth Rates 2.1% 2.2% 2.0% 5.3% 2.0% 7.4% 4.3% 3.4% 4.9% 2.5% 99.7%
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Rank 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Country France Spain Italy Turkey Greece Egypt Croatia Tunisia Morocco Israel Total
Mediterranean Competitors 2010-2020 (000s) Rank 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Country France Spain Italy Turkey Greece Egypt Croatia Tunisia 2010 88,237 61,798 43,881 16,068 14,315 8.693 7,454 6,305 92.2% 2020 106,093 73,867 52,451 27,017 17,111 17,100 10,017 8,916 90.3%
% of Mediterranean Visits
Just 8 countries of the 21 nation Mediterranean market comprise the great bulk of the visitor forecast to 2020.
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Middle East Tourism Countries of Origin 2010 Forecast Middle East Countries Europe South Asia East Asia Americas North Africa Other 39.0% 30.7% 8.5% 7.0% 5.1% 3.7% 6.0% 100.0%
24% of world tourism over the next decade will be long haul (longer than 4 hrs) while 76% will be intraregional. By 2010 approximately 60.0% of Middle East visitors will be long haul.
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Market Segmentation
Examining visitor arrival patterns clearly shows a highly segmented market in the Middle East, most likely reflecting bi-lateral political traditions that are reflected in international tour companies. Where France and Germany play dominant roles in Egyptian tourism, they are nearly absent from Dubai or Bahrain. Saudi Arabia, for example, has a large presence in Bahrain, Lebanon, and Jordan, but very little in Dubai and Egypt. That travel patterns follow traditional political relationships are clearly exampled by Great Britain where they have nearly equal annual visitations to Israel, Bahrain and Dubai, but almost no presence in Lebanon which has been a traditional French alliance.
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Egypt
388,948 1,012,347 667,581 1,161,630 935,933 193,274
Dubai
56,768 172,426
Lebanon
69,123 135,402
Bahrain
Israel
700,00 405,060 240,000 210,000 205,000 90,000 67,000
205,134 57,414
388,462 34,032 413,853 526,622 240,668 247,689 143,670 4,035,136 411,304 93,682 48,574 212,259 6,285,718
1,436,549
107,761 228,859
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Market Penetration
One primary analytical tool to determine the most efficient sources of tourism development is to evaluate penetration rates. Penetration rates illustrate the percentage of people from a given country that visit. The higher the percentage that visit, the greater the penetration. Evaluating the ratio between inbound and outbound penetration rates allows one to see what countries have highly favorable or unfavorable bilateral tourism programs. Six countries have relatively high penetration rates for visiting Israel in 2005. France is the highest, followed by the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Sweden. These same six countries also have high outbound penetration rates with Belgium (number 1), the Netherlands (number 3), the United Kingdom (number 7), and France (number 9).
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The ratio between inbound and outbound penetration rates produces a factor which allows one to compare the percentage of people that visit Israel from a country to the percentage of people from Israel that visit that same country. Belgium is the only country that had a higher proportion of its citizens visiting Israel than Israelis visiting Belgium. Other countries with favorable ratios include Poland, the Netherlands, Cyprus, Canada and Italy. Countries with unfavorable ratios include Turkey, United States, Russia, Germany and Greece.
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Comparing market penetration rates from 2000 to 2005, one finds that this ratio is relatively stable and a moderately accurate predictive tool Netherlands France Belgium United Kingdom Italy United States 2000 2 3 4 5 6 7 2005 2 1 5 4 10 7
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Population Country (mil) Cyprus .7 Netherlands 15.7 France 57.7 Belgium 9.9 United Kingdom 57.6 Italy 55.2 United States 281.1 Canada 31.4 Spain 38.3 Poland 29.0 Greece 10.2 Germany 82.4 Russia 135.6 Turkey 70.4
Country United States France United Kingdom Germany Italy Russia Canada Netherlands Spain Belgium Switzerland Australia Brazil South Africa Sweden
Three cities have long dominated tourism in Israel: WestJerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Eilat. During their highest visitation year, they commanded 70.8% of the countries person-nights. In 2005 these three cities captured 62.3% of person-nights. Five other cities provide the majority of the remaining personnights: Tiberias, Dead Sea, Netanya, Haifa and Herzeliya.
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2005 West-Jerusalem Tel Aviv Eilat Dead Sea Tiberias Netanya Haifa Herzeliya 27.2% 23.8% 11.3% 4.6% 4.9% 4.2% 3.0% 2.8% 81.8%
2000 24.3% 16.4% 17.2% 4.3% 8.6% 5.1% 1.7% 1.6% 79.2%
High Year 27.2% 24.6% 19.0% 4.7% 8.6% 5.6% 3.0% 3.3% 96.0%
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Rank 1 2 3 4 5
Destination Tower of David The Israel Museum Massada Caesarea Gan Hashlosha National Park
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A significant reduction in `sun and beach holidays in Europe due to increasing variety of places to get this experience from cheaper locations. `Sun and beach holidays are becoming globally commoditized. European tourism is changing from one long holiday to several short breaks lasting three to seven days. New tourism is increasingly sophisticated, seeking fuller experiences giving rise to rural cultural tourism and niche tourism replacing packages holidays. Forty percent of European travelers consulted the internet before booking. Fully 27% bought their trip online. Increased competition is causing price pressures on European hotels and an overall lower expenditure per tourist.
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Tourist Trends
The over 30 years of age group accounts for 80% of global tourism. Older age groups will continue to increase in size in both the short and medium terms. As income increases worldwide so does time pressure. Half of travelers seek to simplify their lives by buying all-inclusive programs. The ageing population has an increasing concern for health and will drive growth in health tourism products. Increasing security, health and immigration concerns will lead to increasing government controls on travel.
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The image of destination countries will increasingly be linked to security and health issues, although travel downturns will become shorter lasting - only months instead of years. Cultural tourism motivations are shifting towards a more general interest in global cultures than a specific culture. Travelers are seeking new experiences during their visits. experiences and deeper
Repeat visitations will decline and it will grow more difficult to build repeat visitor loyalty. The internet will become the prime source for seeking advice on destination selection, particularly from travel blogs.
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Promotional campaigns will become less important while branding and clear positioning will become more relevant. Marketing messages will shift to experiences and feelings they will be based on what you can do and what one will personally gain. Opening of new air routes and budget airlines will provide opportunities for countries to develop new markets. To limit outflow of funds for their ageing populations, nations will make residency requirements for state pension entitlement, thus slowing the long-term trend in out-ofcountry homes for European pensioners.
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The primary reason people travel is for leisure and recreation, representing nearly 50% of all international visits. The majority of the remaining travelers are doing so to visit family and friends (19%) or business travel (15%). Israelis primarily travel for leisure and recreation, accounting for over three-fourths of their international trips, much higher than the norm. Visitors to Israel, on the other hand, come for very different reasons. Only 24% come for leisure while 39% are visiting family and friends. Over the last decade, leisure visits dropped fro 39% while visiting friends and relatives increased from 17% to 39% in 2004 and 34% in 2005.
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The reason for these significant changes is most likely the result of two trends brought about by the Intafada. The first is an increase of Jews visiting relatives and the second is a decrease in Christian leisure tourists. Examining the religious affiliation of inbound visitors supports these findings. First, most of the visitors from leading source countries are Jewish from as high as 90% from France to 68% from the United States. Secondly nearly half of Christians purpose to visit is a pilgrimage. Overall, Jews account for 53% of visitors while Christians contribute 23%.
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Internationally
50% 19% 15% 10% 6% 100%
To Israel
24% 39% 19% 10% 8% 100%
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Travel inhibitors (negatives) are the more dominant criteria in the selection of a destination than positive benefits. The balance between the two build the primary image of a destination. Destinations that offer the most benefits with the least inhibitors are most often selected. Past travel experience to a particular destination increases the intention to travel there again, except for the high novelty seeking traveler. The factors that most influence return visits are good value food, high-value shopping and a variety of things to do. The factors that most negatively influence a return visit are travel barriers ( difficulties ) and social and environmental problems.
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Travel motivations, destination image, and travel barriers are the most important factors that influence travelers to revisit destinations. The more favorable the image of a destination, the more likely a repeat visit. Despite belief to the contrary, studies have demonstrated that traveler satisfaction does not have an impact on the likelihood of repeat visits. In Israel, the majority of tourists are repeat visitors. Certain countries have very high repeat patterns such as France (70%-80%) because of the familial connection between French and Israeli Jews.
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In the mid-nineties, repeat visits to Israel were under 40.0% and the majority of visitors were Christians. But over the ensuing decade, the number of separate individuals visiting Israel has dropped significantly along with an increase of repeat visits by the international Jewish population.
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Studies of European Tourism indicate that price competitiveness is a central variable driving change in market share this last decade. Price competitiveness is comprised of:
1) 2) 3) 4)
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Seasonality
International tourism studies demonstrate that increased destination attractions and activities reduce seasonality.
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Israel is generally viewed by Europeans as a potentially unsafe destination. The majority of Europeans oppose Israeli actions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip thus impacting the image of Israel as a desirable holiday destination. In its attempt to position itself as a compelling Eastern Mediterranean destination, Israel faces strong competition from Greece, Turkey and Cypress. They are all closer to Europe and offer more developed tourist attractions and competitive pricing.
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High security constraints are viewed as uncomfortable for incoming tourists. Domestic tourism is not likely to undergo much expansion. Although 44% of Israeli Jews expect to take at least two holidays a year, over half take their second vacation abroad. Unlike many other countries, Israel has not permitted low cost carriers to operate. Air fares to and from Israel are relatively expensive compared to other European destinations.
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Domestic Tourism
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Israelis are increasingly taking shorter holiday trips with the average of a week or less growing from 52% in 2000 to 56.5% in 2005. Nearly one-third of the trips are 1-3 days. Shorter trips are due mainly to short trip packages offered by resorts in Eilat, Greece and Turkey. Trips are highly focused in the summer period, (July-August) representing 26.4%. The holiday season in September and October is particularly important accounting for 22.0% of all holidays taken. Very few trips are taken during the winter (December-February) accounting for just 14.0% Domestic tourists have very different travel preferences from international tourists. Cities are magnets for international tourists while domestic tourists generally use holiday travel to leave city environments for more rural settings.
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Eilat continues to grow as the mainstay of domestic tourism accounting for 42.5% of all domestic person-nights in hotels in 2005. The Dead Sea and Tiberias are second and third with each garnering near 13% of domestic trips. Jerusalems popularity as a trip destination has declined from 7.0% of trips in 2000 to just 5.9% in 2005. The decline in Jerusalem domestic tourism is expected to continue as a result of two factors that will not change in the foreseeable future. The first is that the population is becoming more Orthodox, which keeps many attractions closed on Saturdays, and the large number of Palestinians in the capital.
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Expansion of domestic tourism is limited. Israel has a big difference in disposable income levels with a large portion of the population unable to afford holiday travel. From 2003 to 2005, the number of domestic tourism trips grew only 3.3%. Because of these and other structural issues, the leisure and recreation expenditures of Israelis have increased only 1.5% from 2001 to 2005.
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Low cost charter airlines and packaged travel in Israel have made holiday travel to Turkey, Cypress and Greece as affordable as domestic holidays. The Open Sky Initiative will result in a significant increase in outbound domestic tourism most likely reducing current domestic tourism levels.
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Internal Tourism France Spain United States China Italy United Kingdom Mexico Germany Turkey Austria Cypress
World Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Israeli tourists exhibit the same travel patterns as the majority of international tourists with 70% of their top 10 travel destinations being top 10 world destinations.
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1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Flight Only Package Holidays City Breaks short package holiday Accommodation Only Adventure Treks Cruise Other
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Marketing
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Tourist motivations have been shown to be multidimensional. Tourists want to have more than one experience at a destination. Tourists make comparisons between destinations when selecting a holiday. Research has demonstrated that their most important decision is to reduce the probability of making a bad choice. The positioning of Israel needs to heighten tourists interest and reduce their anxiety about selecting an unsuitable holiday to increase demand.
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Choosing a Destination The Five most important factors for a tourist selecting a holiday destination are in priority order: 1. Accessibility 2. Cost/Value 3. Safety & Security 4. Condition of the destinations facilities 5. Image extent to which the destination is well known and desired by each target market
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Supporting Factors Other factors in selecting a destination in priority order: 1. Hospitality The level of friendliness by the destinations residents 2. Culture & History Particularly iconic experiences the Great Barrier Reef, the Eiffel Tower, The Great Wall, Buckingham Palace, etc. 3. Physiography and Climate 4. Mix of Activities 5. Quality of Service
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Factors Not Critical The factors that are not critical in the destination selection process in priority order, starting with least critical:
Entertainment Performing arts contributing to tourism Carrying Capacity Extent of crowding Interdependence Association with other area destinations Special Events Staged tourist programs
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Risk Perceptions Perceptions of risk are the primary constraints on travel for 34 to 54year olds. Risk issues in priority order: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Holiday may not be personally satisfying I might become ill while on holiday The holiday may not give good value I might be put in danger of getting hurt The holiday might not reflect my personality Problems may occur in travel arrangements People might get a negative opinion of me taking such a holiday 8. Problems might arise with the facilities 9. Some aspects of the holiday might be a waste of time
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Positioning Positioning a destination market requires addressing travelers key risk factors:
Health Political Instability Terrorism Unfamiliar Food Cultural Barriers Religious Dogma Crime
Women perceive a greater degree of risk regarding health and food. Experienced travelers downplay the threat of terrorism.
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How Different Market Segments Approach Travel Decisions There are several primary methods to approach the defining of a target market:
Over the last two decades, travel marketing has been moving from primarily geographical campaigns ( a local travel agent ) segmented by income levels, to more global campaigns targeting certain lifestyles. The following represent the three most likely lifestyle groups to undertake a long-haul holiday:
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Socially Aware The best potential lifestyle market for travel in general.
1) 2) 3) 4) 5)
Most educated segment of the population. Holds professional/ white collar jobs. Upper-middle income Motivated by social issues Seek new experiences
These tourists seek tourism products that offer new experiences and emphasize learning. They are discriminating, demanding and very value-for-money conscious. They do extensive comparative research. They are also the most averse to the risks of becoming ill and of being put in danger on a trip They are the most likely lifestyle group to travel alone (not in a tour).
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Achievers The second largest travel lifestyle group is characterized by the following traits:
1) 2) 3) 4) 5)
Well educated Defined by their career success Traditional view on family life Two-income families Travel is part of their image
Tourism emphasizes conspicuous consumption Travel with friends or family members Not concerned about illness or danger Does not travel for self-betterment Not concerned about getting good value for their money Prime targets for luxury tourism Travel to brand-name destinations especially if the product is exotic.
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Youthful Enthusiasts The third largest travel group is characterized by the following traits:
1) 2) 3) 4) 5)
Younger couples Upwardly mobile, both work Unwilling to defer gratification Borrow to finance their lifestyle Avid, action-oriented consumers
Least risk-averse High spenders Consumers of travel experiences Challenging themselves physically Spiritual experiences Broadening their awareness Like new, off-beat tourism products Retreats to work with artists Expedition camping White-Water rafting
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Travel Decisions
Where to market Israel is certainly as vitally important as how to market it. For example, France is the second largest source of Israels tourism. The issue with France is how much further can the current level be expanded. French tourists to Israel are 90% Jewish with under 30,000 French Christians visiting in 2005. However, in neighboring Lebanon, five times that many French Christians visit each year. Has France reached its potential or can the French Christian market be significantly attracted?
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Travel Decisions
Before any strategy for French marketing can be successful, a full understanding of the specific market constraints need to be clarified. What are the specific negatives in the French Christian community, and can they be overcome? What are the specific positives that can be amplified in targeted niche markets? Each geographical area has its own complex set of potentialities concerning Israel and future Israel campaigns need to carefully address each markets level of opportunity to determine how much budget to allocate.
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Terrorism presents a major challenge to the tourism industry, but past evidence suggests that destinations can quickly recover from terrorism experiences. For example, following the October 2002 terrorist attack in Bali, Australian tourists switched to Fiji, New Zealand and North Asia, causing a 60% decline in Australian visits to Bali. When the advisory notice was lifted, the Australians returned to near normal numbers to Bali.
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The same consumer responses have been witnessed in several markets suffering from terrorism attacks. The issue is one of perception. When the perception of terrorism is reduced, consumers remove it as one of their travel constraints The primary obstacle for Israel regarding risk perception is that the media keeps Israeli confrontations in the public eye, thus keeping safety and security as a travel decision concern.
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What Israel cannot do is to market something it isnt. Mass tourism is built around easy accessibility, low cost/ high value, safety, and iconic identities Tourists prefer hospitable people and pleasant climates but theyre not essential for tourism success. Quality of service is not a tourism decision factor and hotel quality is sacrificed in the decision process for low cost. Israels current tourism market represents less than 0.5 million people who travel there for leisure/ holiday.
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By 2010 Turkey, for example, is forecast to have 11.0 million leisure tourists. Israel at a 3.0 level will have approximately 1.2 million leisure tourists, one-tenth that of Turkey. Given that Israel does not benefit from intra-regional tourism, Israel will need to market in many countries throughout the world to achieve its target tourism levels.
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Mass Market tourism is built around low-cost leisure packages which Israels price structure will not prove a viable competitor Mass market tourism is built around choices between highdesire destinations. Israel is not perceived among the worlds top high-desire destinations Because Israels market base to reach 4.0 million tourists is so large and varied, mass market programs would not be economically viable.
In order for Israel to achieve its target tourism levels, it will need to appeal to targeted niche markets with value-add sensibilities.
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Regional Competitors
With a limited demand for destinations in the region, competitors like Turkey, Greece and Cyprus are highly priceelastic. This means that there will be stiff price competition to maintain their tourism growth A majority of tourists to Turkey and Greece, for example, travel on all-inclusive package tours, and an additional 15% are on partially organized tours. Because of the product structure offered by international tour operators, the majority of travelers to all three countries are drawn from just four European countries.
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Competitors - Turkey
Turkey welcomed 1.5 million British visitors in 2005 Turkey is third in the UKs holiday market after Spain and Greece The Great majority of British people visit the coastal province of Mugla. The vast majority of the 4.2 million German visitors in 2005 visited the province of Antalya.
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Tour Operators
It has been demonstrated that inbound flows of tourists vary directly with the number of travel agents promoting a given product in the generating country. In many countries, particularly those that have not fully adapted to internet lifestyles, travel agents exert a strong influence on destination choices. The development of niched tourism strategies can threaten the interests of prevailing tour operators that often control the supply side of the equation.
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Tour Operators
Israel has three large-sized charter wholesalers as well as a number of medium-size firms that work with international tour operators and control the majority of leisure holiday visits. There is no question that packaged tours will play a role in Israels future growth strategy, however, in order to develop the large-scale niche market strategy that will be essential to achieving visitation targets, they will play only a moderate role in the overall strategy.
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Online Booking
The role of online travel planning will quickly dominate niche travel marketing. In the United States, online planning has already displaced travel agents. 58% of U.S. travelers plan their vacation online compared to 23% who use a travel agent. Online travel bookings in the U.S. reached $60.0 billion in 2005 and has been growing 20% annually. Supplier sites accounted for 58% of airline and hotel bookings in 2005. The dominant on-line search strategy is to search for the lowest price. 72% of U.S. travelers plan leisure travel under eight weeks before taking a trip.
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Internet purchases for Israeli hotels were only 5.1% in 2005 Most domestic tourists in Israel use the internet only for price comparisons. Inbound tourists are expected to be the main users of online booking for some time growing to 15-20% of all international bookings over the next few years.
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Visuals of the accommodations Written description Information about destination Property star rating Customer reviews Brand hotel Loyalty program
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Tourism Interests Google Searches October 2006 Jewish Themes United States United Kingdom Germany Christian Flight Hotel Themes Packages Packages 18% 34% 12% 7.7% 5.6% 22%
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Israel hotels dominate tourism accommodations, accounting for 91% of accommodation revenue in 2005 National chain hotels provide the majority of rooms holding approximately 70.0% of all visits The second largest accommodation sector is self-catered apartments accounting for 4.3% of accommodation sales The proportion of hotels considered 4 and 5 star represent about 45% of all rooms.
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Eilat hotels total 30,700 beds in 2005, 28% of the total country bed-count. The top 5 visitor markets have 75% of the countrys bed share. Beds % of Market 27.7% 18.5% 10.7% 10.1% 8.3% 75.3% Bed Occupancy 65.1% 35.0% 48.4% 36.3% 63.9%
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Israel Identity
Preconceived images of destinations play a large role in tourists travel decisions Image differentiates tourist destinations from each other Family ties to Israel also color the countries Identity. The majority of American Jewish youth think of Israel primarily as a place of history, tradition and holy places, while French Jewish youth view Israel as a place to live and work. One of the main reasons for the difference in attitude is that 78% of French Jewish households have family members living in Israel The Largest difference in the image of Israel is between Male and Females. Young men relate most strongly to images of Israel such as the Israeli Defense forces and danger, while young women relate most strongly to roots, tradition and holy places.
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The tourism industry caters to a travelers expectations of a place. It attempts to deliver an experience travelers are seeking. But as a country of origin creates vastly different preconceptions and expectations, messages about identity need to be crafted differently for each target market The creation of the State of Israel altered the images of a Jewish homeland from predominately a spiritual concept to a physical reality Jewish tourism to Israel combine all the elements of contemporary tourism transformative journey, heritage tourism, pilgrimage, and pleasure vacation.
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The symbols of Israel differ by country of origin. For example, Jewish visitors from the U.S. view spirituality as one of the top ten identities of Israel, while the more secular French society place it 25th. Some of this difference is accounted for by ethnic background. The U.S. has a predominately Ashkenazi Jewish population (79%), as well as the U.K. while the majority of French Jews (70%) are Sephardic, primarily from Algeria and Morocco.
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U.K.
1 2 3 4 6 5 11 7 8 10 23 12 13 14 9 18
France
2 1 4 3 9 8 25 10 6 11 22 23 5 7 18 20
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Israel Tourism Attractions by Sector by Destination Scenic areas Museums Historic Sites Other
Museums have two primary visitor groups international Jewish visitors and school visits Scenic areas and national parks are primarily visited by domestic Israelis Historic site tourism has recently benefited from the rise in cultural tourism Shopping tourism in border regions have become wellestablished patterns in many regions of the world. Creating a free-trade border center, international level discount center on specialty items like diamonds or other shopping enhancements.
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Secondary/ Niche Markets There are a host of niche markets that Israel can appeal to:
1)
Jewish solidarity and family travel is a well-established niche market that can be expanded Christian pilgrimage travel also has potential in key markets throughout the globe. On the Mediterranean, there are 700,000 pleasure yachts traveling throughout. Although France is the leader with 120,000 moorings and Italy with 85,000 other countries are developing large marina complexes to attract this growing market. Turkey Currently has 7,000 moorings with another 3,000 under constructions
2)
3)
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Secondary/ Niche Markets There are a host of niche markets that Israel can appeal to:
4)
International golf tourism also has demonstrated strong potential for successful development in the Eastern Mediterranean with a target goal of 100 courses by 2020 in Turkey alone. Examples of other niche markets include wine tours, birdwatchers, sailing, scuba expeditions, wind-surfing, and the like. Second home development tourism shows some long-term potential as well. Several coastal areas of Europe have reached 50% penetration of holiday residences. Research suggests that second home buyers transiting into primary residences are primarily motivated as much by cultural factors as they are by the environment.
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5)
6)
7)
Strategic Plan
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Strategic Issues Developing a National and Regional strategy requires addressing the following action plans:
Promoting/ incentivizing domestic tourism growth. Increasing per capita tourism expenditures. Addressing the commoditization of sea & sun destinations. Sizing the accommodation infrastructure to support 3.0 - 4.0 million international visitors. Creating a positive balance of tourism trade. Developing bi-lateral strategies to address the negative balance of trade created primarily by domestic travel to the United States, Germany, Great Britain, and the Netherlands.
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Strategic Issues (cont.) Developing a National and Regional strategy requires addressing the following action plans:
Determining the locations in Israel where the primary tourism investments need to be made. Assessing the value of adopting an `open skies policy Designing a positioning for Israel to clearly differentiate it from competitive destinations. Determining what combination of strategies yields higher revenues.
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Because of the past periodic volatility of international tourism, and because domestic tourism has been a majority of hotel person-nights since 1998, Israel should ensure the financial viability of its tourism industry by prioritizing its strategic planning around enhancing the domestic market.
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One key strategic issue is to plan to accommodate the potential cyclic nature of visitor arrivals in Israel. Of primary visitor cities in Israel, Eilat demonstrates the least financial variability due to its remoteness from the clashes between Israel and its neighbors. Tel Aviv, for example, had a revenue per available room (RevPAR) of $109.00 in October 2000, and fell to $38.00 by April 2003 before returning to $150.00 by January 2006, a decline of 65%. Jerusalem went from a RevPAR of $99.00 in October 2000 to $30.00 in April 2003, a decline of 70.0%
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Eilat on the other hand, has proven more stable in maintaining RevPAR. In October 2000, Eilat had a RevPAR of $69.00 which fell to $47.00, a decline of 31.0%, less than half of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. By January 2006, Eilat had returned to its past RevPAR highs while Jerusalem remained 12% below the highs and Tel Aviv 4% below.
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Eilat Development
Eilat holds the majority share of the domestic tourism market and one-third of the overall tourism market. In 3.0 4.0 million visitation models, Eilat still maintains a one-third overall share. Being key to the domestic market, Eilat is thus the central destination in determining the overall success of Israels tourism sector.
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The developmental necessities to attract leisure domestic travelers to Eilat are much the same as those necessary to attract international leisure tourists: Allow low-cost flights to operate domestically and from Eilat internationally. Significant increase in shopping opportunities (ideally a major outlet brand mall, and a regional wholesale trading center to serve Israel, Jordan, Egypt). Develop world-class dining experiences. Significantly enhance entertainment and cultural attractions.
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Secondary strategies include: Support entrepreneurial vitality markets Develop market niched programs: Golf Bird-watching Scuba expeditions Sailing Wind-surfing Off-road thrill rides
to
pursue
niche
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The more encompassing the Eilat experience is, the more visits that can be generated. Eilat has the ability to be positioned as one of the most encompassing cultural and leisure vacation centers in the world:
Basing from Eilat one can easily visit some of the worlds most intriguing sites Petra, St. Catherines, the Sinai, the Great Pyramids (needs a direct flight to Cairo), the Dead Sea, and sites on the Red Sea. To compliment these unmatched cultural and geographical sites, a rich set of leisure activities can be more fully developed including world-class dining, entertainment and shopping.
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Eilat has the ability to be positioned as one of the most far reaching vacation centers in the world:
Add to these amenities the sand and sea experience with boating, playing with dolphins, and water adventure sports and Eilat presents sufficient product magnitude to compete with any Eastern Mediterranean destination.
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The majority of tourism expenditures in Israel will be spent in three cities Eilat, Tel Aviv, and West Jerusalem. Because of the religious and more conservative nature of West Jerusalem, the community is not conducive for creating new revenue producing programs/ facilities for tourists. As such, the only two cities where a sufficient tourism infrastructure could be developed are Eilat and Tel Aviv. As the majority of the nations tourism revenues are already generated by Eilat, and as it has the highest potential to be a regional tourism center, it represents the clearest strategy for increasing overall domestic and international tourism expenditures.
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If Eilat does not become the primary tourism focus of the country for leisure and cultural tourists, then the current infrastructure will decline and greater numbers of domestic tourists will elect to travel abroad, thereby compounding the balance of tourism trade shortfall.
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Israels international marketing strategy needs to address four key questions before embarking upon any shifts in its tourism sector:
1)
How can Israel gain a higher market share in its current markets with its current products? What new market segments are available with its current products? What new or modified products will appeal to current market segments? What combination of these strategies will yield the highest total revenue?
2)
3)
4)
Only after these four issues are clearly understood should Israel embark upon a growth strategy based upon offering new products to new markets.
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Strategies to increase average length of stay of existing visitors. Strategies to increase the purchase of goods and services. Cooperative strategies to attract tourists who are visiting other destinations in the region Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Cyprus, Greece. Undertake cooperative promotional campaigns with regional destinations to increase multi-destination and stop-over holidays.
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Create bilateral tourism agreements with countries with similar market profiles which offer vouchers or special packages to encourage a visitor of one of the countries to visit the other the next year. Subsidize air and sea travel between them; such as between Sharm El Sheikh and Eilat or Cairo and Eilat. Establish agreements to structure multi-destination stopovers for long-haul passengers such as a stop in Turkey for a visit on the way to Israel. Multi-destination travel in a single package through cooperative regional agreements can more easily satisfy Mediterranean tourists desires to travel in more compelling and efficient ways through the region.
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In 1995, 3 million passengers used LCCs in Europe. By 2005 it had grown to 30 million passengers flying on 65 airlines with an expected growth rate of 13% annually for the next few years.
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The first is the `push effect where destinations experience a significant increase in tourism a few years after introduction of LCCs The second is the `pull effect where regions experience an overall decrease in domestic demand. Domestic tourists take advantage of the low-fares to travel abroad and their outbound traffic more than offsets inbound growth. The third `pattern shift effect where secondary airport regions that host the LCCs grow in terms of room supply and decreases occupancy rates in other regions.
2)
3)
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Over the past five years several scholarly papers have addressed the economic impact of discount airlines on a destinations local tourism economy. Their findings are summarized as follows:
1)
Discount airlines primary market group are 25 34 years accounting for 35% of their traffic load. The 35 49 year olds account for another 28%. The market is primarily lower middle income 2/3 of total passengers on LLCs are new flyers. The LLC travelers prefer to visit as individual tourists and do not subscribe often to package tours. The restaurant pattern is similar to the hotel business.
2) 3)
4)
5)
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Perhaps most important for this discussion, accommodations within 10 kilometers of the airport receive increased traffic from these visitors, however those with the 10-40 kilometer band generally show no increased occupancy. The restaurant pattern is similar to the hotel business.
7)
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The Distance from the hotel to the airport has been an essential factor in whether a discount airline increased regional tourism business. There appears to be three factors at work here. The first is that discount air carriers tend to land later in the evening and visitors spend their first night at hotels near the airport. The second is that these are younger travelers that are staying a night or two and may visit three hotels during a week holiday touring an area. The third is that people prefer to be near an airport when they are only staying 2 or 3 nights on a get-away holiday, which is becoming increasingly common.
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If Low Cost Carriers are allowed to land at Ben Gurion Airport, preliminary estimates are that an increase of 25% of inbound passengers (400,000) is within expected norms. The impact on outbound domestic passenger traffic from Ben Gurion would be an increase of 15% or 550,000 more outbound passengers. The net result of adopting Ben Gurion as the low-cost gateway will likely be a net tourism balance of trade loss of over 100,000.
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Using Eilat as the port of entry for low-cost airlines would increase (depending upon the comprehensiveness of tourism development ) inbound passenger traffic 100,000 150,000 and outbound around an equal amount 100,000 - 150,000. If one includes the net economic impact on Israel Legacy Carriers (inflation adjusted fares dropped 30%, 1990-2000, in the U.S. ). The introduction of discount airlines to Ben Gurion airport would have a significant negative impact on Israels balance of tourism trade. The introduction of a LCC into the Eilat market would most likely have a neutral net impact.
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Case Study: How Did Turkey Achieve Its Rapid Tourism Development
Made land freely available for tourism investments. Provided grants and low interest rate loans. Offered tax exemptions and subsidized utilities. Turkish government infrastructure. invested heavily in tourism
The government opened tourism schools. The government conducted mass media campaigns to promote public awareness of the importance of tourism.
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Case Study: How Did Turkey Achieve Its Rapid Tourism Development (cont.)
Focused on diversifying the tourism product with projects based on golf, faith tourism, adventure tourism, and health and well-being. Government funded a large marketing budget focusing on Germany, the United Kingdom and France. Today tourism constitutes 30% of the countrys export income.
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Airline companies are supported through incentives for each tourist brought in reduced petrol prices, bounties for each tourist, reduced fees, etc. Tourism companies are considered export companies and receive incentives given them later. Reduction of VAT for tourism enterprise. Governmental credits increased for SMEs and travel agencies given SME status. Streamlined governmental approval process to 10 months or less for tourism projects.
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Case Study: Tourism Development Support Programs Utilized in Other Countries (cont.)
No-interest loans, free land and other incentives to create new tourism product niches. Investment subsidies that target higher-income tourist groups, such as conference and corporate tourism. National and regional trademarks, identity campaigns, and promotional campaigns to position product against competitors.
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Destinations have become more important than individual attractions as a result of packaged holiday experiences. There is a close relationship between a destinations overall performance level (ability to attract tourists) and the individual components that comprise tourist experiences of a destination. Eilat could benefit from benchmarking its total offering with direct competitors operating in the Mediterranean region. Turkeys Mugla and Antalya provinces Cypress Greeces islands Italys art cities Spains Costa del Sol
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More fully developing Eilat to make it competitive in terms of attractions and shopping with regional destinations. More fully developing rural tourism infrastructure.
2)
Increase the per cap inbound visitor revenue stream by rebalancing the inbound tourism mix towards more value-add visitors business/professionals; high-value niche markets; and FITs. Increase per cap spend of domestic tourism by enhancing shopping and attractions at primary visitor destinations.
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Focus on branding efforts and clear positioning campaigns with target markets, not on general promotional campaigns (which have been demonstrated to be far less effective at inducing tourism). Positioning campaigns should be based on what a visitor can do and how they will personally gain from the trip. The goal of positioning is to create in a potential visitors mind: Demonstration of interest/pleasure Reduction of uncertainty about choosing Israel Reduction of risk about choosing an unsuitable vacation
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Repeat visitations will shift from the majority of visitors to Israel to only 25% at the 4.0 million level. This will put significant pressure on bench-marking marketing channels to determine the most efficient channels to ensure a constant flow of new visitors. In Europe, 40% of travelers already consult the internet before booking and fully 27% buy their trip online. Booking is already over 50% in the U.S. Over the next five years this channel will become central in order to achieve 4.0 million tourists.
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Israel is not a mass market leisure destination. In order to achieve an inbound tourist level of 3.0 4.0 million tourists, Israel will need to pursue targeted market segments. A preliminary visitor allocation is provided: (25%) Jews visiting friends and family and solidarity visits (10%) Christian Pilgrims (10%) Regional discount/ charter leisure package tourists for regional holidays (Eilat-based) (10%) Primary niche market travelers direct marketing (15%) Business/ Conference/ Professional (20%) FITs (10%) Other
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A preliminary marketing budget allocation would be as follows 30% - Domestic tourism to ensure a growing base to provide a financial underpinning for the industry 30% - Tour programs, low-cost airlines, incentive travel, business/ professional, etc. 30% - Direct marketing, value-added niche markets 10% - Branding and positioning campaigns Using a standard of $6.00 per tourist with a looking forward model, a 4.0 million target should be accomplished with an efficiently used annual marketing budget of $25.0 million.
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Israel would then need a five-year budget of $150.00 million. Year 1 $35.0 million Year 2 $32.0 million Year 3 $30.0 million Year 4 $28.0 million Year 5 $25.0 million By bench-marking, Israel can track budget against performance and adjust the budget in year 3 on to reflect the current visitor and expenditure levels.
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Research Group
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International Leisure and Recreation Consultants Conducted over 2,000 studies in 59 countries Area specialties include tourism development, hospitality industry, entertainment and lifestyle retail Consultancy services include economic feasibility, facility planning, facility sizing, consumer demand analysis, visitor expenditure studies, and market strategies.
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Research Methodology
MCM has worked in Israel for the past five years assessing tourism projects. MCM has inspected tourism facilities throughout Israel, Jordan and Egypt in addition to extensive experience in Turkey, Greece and the Middle East. Conducted interviews in Israel with tourism stakeholders throughout the sector. Research materials included focus groups in four key markets United States, Canada, United Kingdom and France.
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