National Knowledge and Research Center for Emergency Readiness - Collins Kreiner et al.: The “Coronavirus Domino Effect” on the Tourism Industry in Israel: Analysis and Recommendations

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Collins Kreiner et al.: The “Coronavirus Domino Effect” on the Tourism Industry in Israel: Analysis and Recommendations

Prof. Noga Collins Kreiner from the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Haifa University, Israel.

Dr. Yael Ram - Department of Tourism Studies, Ashkelon Academic College, Israel.
Prof. Luca Zamparini, Department of Law (Political Economy and Tourism Economy), University of Salento, Italy.

Abstract
The project aims to make practical recommendations regarding the future recovery of the tourism industry in Israel, with an emphasis on its workforce.
The Economic and Social recommendations are necessary steps to be taken in the tourism industry for the process of recovery that will take place after the virus is defeated.
The tourism industry is an umbrella-sector for multiple sectors: aviation (including airlines, airports, and related services), hotels and other forms of accommodation (such as short-term rental apartments, B&Bs, hostels and camping sites), restaurants, attractions (natural and man-made, including religious and heritage sites, museums, theme parks, visitor centers, and nature reserves), modes of land transportation(shuttles and coaches), and a long list of intermediaries (tour guides, tour operators, travel agents, online travel agents, insurance companies, etc.).
The economic contribution of the tourism industry in Israel is estimated to be 2.6% of the GDP and 3.6% of the workforce. Its share of the workforce rises to 6% when indirect sectors and contributors are included. In Italy, on the other hand, tourism is responsible for 13% of the GDP and for a similar share of the workforce.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the different sectors of the tourism industry in Israel negatively, so much that the industry has had to close down, sector after sector.
The proposed project aims to describe and analyze the process of the collapse of the Israeli tourism industry , by date, sub-sector and impact and to recommend the needed steps for the recovery process that will commence when the pandemic subsides.
In order to meet this goal, the project consists of two stages:
The first stage was:
1. Analyze the sequence and patterns of the crisis in the Israeli tourism industry, from 31/12/2019 until the ban on large gatherings (18/3/2020), and its economic implications.
2. Compare this process to past crises in Israel (the second Lebanon War in 2006 and the Tsuk Eitan military operation in 2014.
3. Compare this sequence of events to the current crisis in Italy (31/12/2019 to 11/3/2020 when commercial activity in Italy was halted).
4. Compare this crisis to the crisis caused by a sequence of significant earthquakes in Italy (August to October 2016).
The second stage will analyze the recovery of the tourism industries in three leading tourist destinations in Asia (possibly South Korea, China, Singapore or Hong Kong), in which the pandemic is being curbed. The aim of the analysis in this stage is to point out the sequence of subsectors of recovery, the timeline and the different stages of their improvement, and the portion of the workforce that was engaged in the recovery process, by subsectors.
This process of recovery will be compared to the patterns of the recovery from past events in Italy and Israel, as mentioned above, in order to test their feasibility for the tourism industry in democratic and Western countries. Therefore, recommendations will be given towards the necessary steps to bring about the recovery of the Israeli tourism industry.

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