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Ministry of Tourism is looking for investors to build hotels in Israel |
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The first area under tender is Khan Al-Omdan site in Old Akko. Due to the significant increase in incoming tourism to Israel, the Ministry of Tourism estimates that in the next few years there will be a shortage of hotel rooms. The Ministry wishes to prepare for this in advance, and build new hotels. Shaul Tsemach, Director General of the Ministry stated that he expects an increase of 20% in inbound tourism in 2008, which requires his Ministry to make immediate preparations. As part of the actions to encourage entrepreneurs and investors in building hotels, a tender was recently published for building a hotel in the Khan Al-Omdan site in Old Akko (Acre). The tender offers entrepreneurs to build a hotel of about 170 rooms. The last date to submit such a tender is April 13th 2008. Khan Al-Omdan is one of Israel's oldest, prettiest and most impressive buildings. It was built in Ottoman times, at the end of the 18th century, and is located at the heart of Old Akko. In the past, this two-storey building was used as a parking place for traders due to its location near Acre's old harbor. In 2001, the building was listed in UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites. Old Akko has recently gone through a stage of revival in tourism. In the past few months, a new boutique hotel opened there, with 42 beds in 16 rooms. The hotel was built in a structure originally used by Turkish customs officials. Nearby, the ethnographic museum "Treasures in the Wall" opened, with exhibitions of furniture, utensils, attires, crafts, jowls and different objects from the daily lives of the residents of the Galilee in the past 200 years. Today, Acre has a single hotel - "Palm Beach", with 130 rooms, as well as several hostels. In recent years, the Ministry of Tourism has invested dozens of millions of Shekels in developing attractions and infrastructure for tourism in the city. To watch a video of the "Treasures in the Wall" museum:
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