Ministry of Tourism

Total Budget: 624 million NIS

Development Budget: 164 million NIS

Number of Employees: 160

Number of Arab employees: 5 → 3.1%

Issues:

1. State Encouragement for Converting Rooms into Rural Guest Rooms

♦ In 1999, there were fourteen requests approved (for thirty-eight rooms) for

assistance in converting rooms into rural guest rooms. The assistance provided

by the Ministry reached 1,087,000 NIS. Not one of the requests was from an

Arab citizen.

♦ Quantity of Rural Guest Rooms

Number of rooms in operation in Israel: approximately 6,000

Number of rooms operated by Arab citizens: 98

Number of rooms at kibbutzim (not including hotels): 4,015

♦ The total revenue in the tourism sector in 1999 was 5.5 billion NIS.

Rooms operated by Arab citizens – 98

Rooms operated by Jewish citizens in private sector approx. – 1880

Rooms operated by the kibbutzim – 4015

Tourism is a State resource and it is in the government’s power to develop and direct this resource for the benefit of its citizens. Ostensibly, the Ministry of Tourism focuses on the commercial side of its operations, but it is a fact that its accessibility, consideration and connections are almost exclusively limited to the Jewish citizens.

The Ministry of Tourism does not appeal to the public to convert rooms for tourists, but rather responds to requests of non-profit tourist organizations supported by regional councils, or requests from the centers for fostering business initiatives, which do not generally include Arab rural guest rooms.

In the final test, it appears that the Jewish citizens, and especially kibbutzim, have ready accessibility to the tourist industry and its funding, while the neighboring Arab citizens living in areas no less attractive, are overlooked and do not enjoy the services of this Ministry. The Ministry of Tourism should see to the equal distribution of this important resource by a direct appeal to the Arab citizens and municipalities, training them, and encouraging them to take part in and benefit from the tourist industry.

The Kibbutzim and the Arabs: Their Percentage in the Population

And Their Share in Rural Guest Room Operation:

Guest Rooms Their Percentage of the Population

2. 1999-2000 Will Be a Good Year for Tourism

♦ In 1999, approximately 40 million NIS (about 24% of the Ministry’s

development budget) was invested in tourism regions in the Arab municipalities,

including Nazareth (22 million NIS) and Acre (12 million NIS).

The Ministry of Tourism explicitly invests only in those regions having tourism potential and only for the purpose of promoting tourism. This focus resulted in the neglect of other areas adjacent to those that were developed, and did not make provisions for the welfare of the citizens in those locations. Thus, the tourist areas in Nazareth and Acre, for example, were renovated and strikingly developed, and the neighborhood adjacent to the tourist center became part of the Ministry of Housing’s Project Renewal, while the surrounding Arab neighborhoods were left in neglect.

This investment was likely to be more damaging than helpful, because it had the appearance of promoting the infrastructure in the Arab communities. In effect, these investments in tourism channel funds that could otherwise have been used to bring about change in neglected areas, and not only those which tourists see.