The popularity of Tel Aviv in Israel is at its zenith, if the proliferation of airlines and hotels in the city is anything to go by. This development is largely due to the normalisation of diplomatic relations between Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Israel since 2020. Diplomacy has made it possible to launch flights between the Gulf and Israel. As well as the establishment of diplomatic relations between Morocco and the Jewish state.
Five companies from the Gulf - EmiratesEtihad, FlyDubai, Gulf Air and Wizz Air Abu Dhabi - serve...
The popularity of Tel Aviv in Israel is at its zenith, if the proliferation of airlines and hotels in the city is anything to go by. This development is largely due to the normalisation of diplomatic relations between Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Israel since 2020. Diplomacy has made it possible to launch flights between the Gulf and Israel. As well as the establishment of diplomatic relations between Morocco and the Jewish state.
Five companies from the Gulf - EmiratesEtihad, FlyDubai, Gulf Air and Wizz Air Abu Dhabi - serve Tel Aviv airport. While Israel's national carrier El Al also offers daily flights to Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Demand is such that Emirates, which launched a daily flight to Israel in June, will be offering a second from 30 October.
(Boeing 787-9 Photo: Adam Moreira (AEMoreira042281), CC BY-SA 4.0)
An offering that's taking off for the Gulf and Asia
While it is unlikely that relations will be normalised with Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia, there are some positive signs for air transport. On August 11, on the sidelines of the presentation of El Al's second-quarter results, El Al CEO Dina Ben-Tal told the press that await authorisation to fly over Oman "in a few days".. The airline has already received authorisation to fly over Saudi Arabia. With Oman, El Al could bypass Iran and gain time for its routes to Asia.
According to Dina Ben-Tal, this would be a major boost for the national airline's Asian routes. Above all, it would enable El Al to position Tel Aviv Ben Gurion airport as a hub between North America, Europe and Asia.
The CEO already confirmed in July thatEl Al intends to start services to Dublin, Melbourne and Tokyo-Narita from Tel Aviv. These routes would be operated by Boeing 787. Some routes could start for the winter season. This would complete El Al's Asian network, which currently includes Bangkok, Mumbai, Hong Kong and Phuket. In France, the airline will be landing at Paris CDG, Marseille and Nice.
This air travel boom is likely to bolster Tel Aviv's fast-growing hotel industry. Israel's business metropolis is a popular destination. Its Mediterranean lifestyle, its gastronomic scene, its nightlife, but also its economic dynamism - the GDP has grown by 7.1% in 2021, its positioning in high-tech industries and a first-rate congress infrastructure all help to promote the city to business people.
The popularity of 'staycations' also makes Tel Aviv an ideal city to combine business with a seaside lifestyle. So, after seeing occupancy rates fall below 50% in 2020, Tel Aviv's hotels are back on track. In 2021, the average occupancy rate once again reached 72%. By 2022, it should exceed this figure.
More boutique hotels
This favourable context is reflected in a dozen hotel openings. Since the beginning of the year, there has been a succession of inaugurations of boutique-hotel" and luxury.
Last April, the David Kempinski has opened in the centre of Tel Aviv's world-famous 'Promenade'. Housed in a 34-storey skyscraper, the hotel offers 250 rooms and suites. It is the first Kempinski in Israel. The David Kempinski offers restaurants and bars, a swimming pool, a luxurious spa and a vast conference centre.
Le Port Tower Hotel d'Isrotel is a brand new business hotel located north of the port of Tel Aviv. The 4-star hotel offers 149 rooms and 2 suites with modern design and panoramic views. The hotel features a fitness centre, indoor swimming pool, restaurants, bar and conference facilities.
Le Brown Brut is a new boutique hotel located very close to the Tel Aviv Promenade and the beaches. The hotel is housed in the Gaon House, an office building constructed in the late 1970s, but which has undergone urban renovation while preserving elements of its brutalist architecture. The hotel has 182 rooms and a restaurant.
On 1 August, the Alberto Hotel. Located on the corner of Nahalat Binyamin and Ahad Ha'am, the Alberto is a fully restored historic property. Part of the Isrotel Design Collection, the Alberto features 90 rooms, a swimming pool and roof bar, an indoor bar and restaurant and a spa and fitness centre.
Another prestigious boutique hotel, the MGallery Elkonin Tel Aviv of the Accor group offers 44 luxury rooms and suites in a property built around 1910. The luxury hotel has a Robuchon restaurant, a spa, a bar and a rooftop pool with views of the sea and the city skyline. The hotel is due to open its doors by the end of the year.
Finally, the opening of the Nobu Hotel Tel Aviv. Located along boulevard Rothschild, one of the city's most emblematic avenues with its boutiques and cultural institutions, the hotel will offer 38 suites, a private garden, a fitness centre, a swimming pool, a restaurant and a rooftop bar.
