A week after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced his intention to bring to the cabinet meeting a proposal for a resolution to establish a ministerial committee to combat the cost of living, the government approved the move headed, with the participation of the Ministers of Economy and Finance and Minister of Tourism, Haim Katz.

Under the authority of the committee that will be established: monitoring the implementation of decisions in the relevant ministries, steps to increase competition and reduce centralization. Also, it is within the committee’s authority to promote reforms and laws during the government’s tenure, so that they achieve the goal for which the committee was established.

In an appeal to the Prime Minister’s Office requesting to join, Minister Haim Katz wrote: “The Ministry of Tourism under my leadership is formulating a plan to make an “affordable vacation” accessible, so that it will be attractive and of high quality, both for the Israeli consumer and for the tourist entering Israel. At the same time, we are working to remove bureaucracy in the process of establishing hotels, to increase supply and competitiveness”.

“The tourism industry makes up about 2.6% of GDP. According to the “World Economic Forum”, in 2021 the State of Israel ranked last (out of 117 countries) in the price competitiveness index, and this is due, among other things, to a low value for the price of the vacation”.

“Connecting the Ministry of Tourism to the ministerial committee to fight the cost of living will be a force multiplier for the Ministry of Tourism’s efforts on the issue”.