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April 1, 2011
Eilat tourism picks up
Large infrastructure projects are now underway.
EDGAR ASHER ISRANET
One of the fastest-growing sectors in the Israeli economy is the tourist industry. Recently, Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov was on hand to welcome the 3,000,001st tourist to arrive in Israel this year. It is projected that by around 2015 five million tourists will be coming to Israel annually.
Eilat, Israel’s premier holiday resort on the Red Sea, continues to attract a wide range of foreign visitors. The warm, dry climate offers an escape from the long and severe northern European winter. Almost every month, new travel agencies from Europe and North America are adding direct flights to Eilat on their holiday programs, and the Eilat port now has to share its facilities with docking cruise ships. Cruise passengers are able to visit Masada and the Dead Sea, Timna Park and the Eilat underwater observatory, among other star attractions. There is also shopping in Eilat to suit every taste and pocket.
Eilat will soon have a year-round ice park that will feature ice rinks and artificial ski slopes. The complex will also have a large selection of shops and restaurants.
Eilat is looking ahead to increased tourist traffic and the government is aware of the importance of connecting Eilat to the centre of the country by rail and air, as well as the need to improve existing road links. Eilat’s city-centre airport is due to close in a few years, after a new international airport has been constructed near Timna, a half-hour drive from the city. This will mean that the largest airliners from anywhere in the world will be able to fly directly to Eilat.
The potential for a fast-rail link to Eilat from the Israel’s centre is also now a government priority. The Ministry of Transport has already requested interested private parties to come forward to participate in the building of a 170-kilometre track from Dimona in the north to Eilat. The railway will eventually include 63 bridges and five tunnels and connect to the existing line that leads from Beersheba to Dimona. Travel time by rail from Tel Aviv to Eilat is expected to be about two-and-a-half hours and it is estimated that the line will cater up to 3.5 million passengers per year. The line will also carry freight from the Eilat port, thus freeing up the roads, in the hopes of reducing pollution and accidents.
The railroad to Eilat is part of the government’s transportation reform plan, in which $680 million has been earmarked for new roads and railways. Currently, the main road to Eilat is being widened and having the carriageways separated by a central crash barrier.
Edgar Asher is the director of Isranet News and Media Service.
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