Tiberias is a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee with a lot of potential. It is a major attraction for both Christian and Jewish groups and individuals but the area is still somewhat unappealing and is in need of a major upgrade. Perhaps the renovation and renewal of the area will breathe new life into the city.

The Canada Israel group has announced that it will renovate and manage the Galei Kinnereth hotel in Tiberias, according Michal Raz Chaimovitch at Globes. According to her, the company signed a 25-year agreement with the Morad family, owners of the property, for NIS 7 million a year. “Canada Israel also intends to invest NIS 32 million in renovating the hotel,” she wrote. “Renovations will commence shortly, with the reopening scheduled a year from now. Renovations will include an upgrade for the rooms and public spaces and construction of rooms with private pools.”

Play, Canada Israel’s hotel arm managed by Reuven Elkes, currently manages 500 rooms in various hotels, including two hotels in Tiberias: the Lake House Tiberias Hotel (formerly Hamei Tveria) with 250 rooms and Hotel Villa Europa 1917 Tiberias, a boutique hotel with 31 rooms. The company is also involved in managing the Harlington Ashkelon Hotel (formerly the Holiday Inn).

Canada Israel plans to turn Galei Kinneret into a luxury hotel. This comes at a time when the Ministry of Tourism is emphasizing the need for the introduction of more lower-priced and affordable accommodations. For this reason, Canada Israel has also announced plans to provide lower-cost solutions in other hotels. Canada Israel plans to manage all of its hotels by itself, while considering construction of additional hotels at major tourist destinations outside of Tel Aviv, including Eilat, the Dead Sea, and Jerusalem.

Galei Kinnereth, which opened in 1946, is located on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. It has 120 rooms, a pool, a private beach, and a sports club and spa. The hotel is managed by Rimonim (Israel Land Development Hotels, acquired by the Dan Hotel chain). The acquisition agreement did not include the hotels merely managed by Rimonim, but only the hotels that were owned, as reported by Raz Chaimovitch.