The Prime Minister and the Ministers agreed on an assistance package for the tourism industry – support for guides, inbound tourism organizers and hotels, along with professional training for industry workers.
The Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, the Minister of Finance, Avigdor Lieberman, the Minister of Tourism, Yoel Razbozov, and the Minister of Economy and Industry, Orna Barbibai, agreed on a package of assistance to the tourism industry, as part of dealing with the Omicron strain.
Following the Prime Minister’s guidance at the weekly cabinet meeting, the outline is formulated, the purpose of which is to help the tourism industry prepare and adapt to the changes that will take place following the continued treatment of the corona virus. The decision will be submitted to the government for approval soon.
At the center of the assistance package is an investment of up to NIS 30,000 in each employee from the tourism industry who chooses to join another occupation, in the industry or outside it.
This investment will be divided as follows:
Receiving professional training for all those engaged in the tourism industry at a cost of up to NIS 20,000 per training, without an occupancy limit and with a state subsidy. The professional trainings are intended for a wide range of professions in the fields of high-tech, industry and more.
A monthly training scholarship of up to NIS 10,000 will be given, depending on the length of the training (up to 4 months), regardless of other sources of income (as the case may be).
This assistance will benefit thousands of employees in the tourism industry, including tour guides and travel agents, whose occupation is affected by the change in entry guidelines to Israel.
In order to help prepare for the changing situation, it was also decided to extend the number of state-guaranteed loan funds by a number of months from which all businesses in the economy can benefit.
In addition, financial assistance will also be provided in the following channels:
• Hotels that have experienced a decrease of more than 40% in business turnover due to restrictions on the entry of tourists to Israel, will benefit from grants totaling approximately NIS 150 million that will be transferred over the coming months.
• Inbound tourism organizers – resources will be allocated to assist and support marketing activities, personnel retention and reimbursement of expenses in the total amount of approximately NIS 60 million.
• Guides – The state will fund about 25,000 free tours for the public that will be performed by guides, for a fee of about 1,000 NIS per tour and a total amount of about 25 million NIS. The tours will be conducted through the Nature and Parks Authority and other government ministries.
In addition to all this, and in order to produce immediate livelihood solutions, workers from the tourism industry will be able to be employed as Corona trustees in the education system and as epidemiological researchers in local authorities, with a monthly salary of up to NIS 11,000.