The Israeli tourist city that surpassed Tel Aviv and Jerusalem

After a weak start to the year, the past summer brought a change in the Haifa hotel picture. Central Bureau of Statistics data show that for three consecutive months, higher room occupancy was recorded in the city compared to the corresponding months last year: In June, occupancy stood at 43.7%, compared to 28.9% in June 2025; in July, at 54.8% compared to 44.4%; and in August, it climbed to 72.1%, compared to 64.5% in August of last year.

August was the strongest month. Haifa was among the cities with the highest occupancy rates among the localities examined, after Eilat where 90.3% was recorded, and ahead of Tiberias with 71.7%, Tel Aviv with 67.5%, and Jerusalem with 51%.

The data are also reinforced by hotels in the city. "At Dan Hotels in Haifa, there was a substantial increase in the number of overnight stays and guests during August of this year, and we experienced an increase of about 15% in our hotels in the city," says Yaniv Shavit, general manager of Dan Hotels in the Haifa and North regions.

According to him, the increase stems among other things from the strengthening demand for an urban vacation. "Haifa has been developing recently, in terms of tourism, gastronomy, and culture. We at Dan Hotels in Haifa work in collaboration with institutions in the city, with attraction providers, shows, tours, activities for children, and culinary tours in the city. All these attractions pull guests to our hotels in the city. The overwhelming majority of guests in our hotels in Haifa are Israelis with an emphasis on families," Shavit says. According to him, alongside this there is "a slight return of business activity that also brings tourists with it."

The Fattal chain also reports a strong summer. "We certainly feel the increase in occupancies at Fattal hotels in Haifa. In the summer, high occupancies were recorded, and similarly during the holiday period," says Teddy Merhavi, general manager of the northern and Sharon region at the Fattal hotel chain. "Couples and families arrive to us who choose Haifa for an urban vacation, alongside guests who combine their stay in the city with trips in the North. Haifa has a unique character and a rich history, alongside the sea, culinary scene, and culture. Every city in the country has its own story and hospitality experience, and the secret is in the diversity: Discovering in every vacation another charm that Israel has to offer."

At The Colony boutique hotel, they also report a similar trend. Hotel manager Mickey Heib says that in August "a significant increase in demand" was felt, adding that "Haifa in general and the city's hotels in particular experienced a breaking of records of the last two years in August." According to him, "From our perspective, this was not just an increase in the number of rooms sold, but a sign that Haifa is succeeding in attracting audiences who arrive in the city not just as a transit station, but as a destination in its own right."

According to Heib, alongside families and Israeli guests, a certain return of foreign tourists is also noticeable. During the period, the hotel hosted three tour groups from abroad, and at the time these statements were delivered, it was hosting another group. "Haifa needs to know how to host both the Israeli who arrives for a short vacation and the international tourist who seeks to get to know a city that has a story, culture, and people," he says.

Yair Amitzur, director-general of the Haifa Tourism and Leisure Association, attributes the revival also to activity carried out in the last year and a half to strengthen Haifa's standing as a tourist destination. "There is a special combination here of sea and mountain, attractions, excellent hotels, museums, and heritage," he says. "A lot of work was done in the last year and a bit, both us at the Tourism Association and in various municipal departments, investing time, energy, and resources so that people discover the beauty of Haifa. We are working hard and starting to see results."

According to Amitzur, a campaign was launched during the past summer that included incentives, a double-decker bus, tours, and workshops, alongside festivals and performances. "Now when a person arrives in Haifa they have something to do here; they have activity, an overall package, something to see, something to experience. They can encounter culture and art here, just as they can meet the special people here, the heritage, the stories, and the views."

According to him, families with children stand out in the summer, alongside older adults, retirees, and culture consumers, while the culinary scene attracts additional audiences to the city. "We see a very large audience that returns, and an audience that falls in love, and usually whoever comes once also returns a second time and more."

The increase in occupancy is not necessarily the result of a price rise. At least at Dan Hotels, according to Shavit, "hospitality prices did not rise." The chain, according to him, put an emphasis on accommodation packages that include content in the hotel and throughout the city, including music shows, cultural events, plays, and tasting tours in the Talpiot Market. At The Colony Hotel, they also emphasize the overall experience: "In the end, a guest does not buy just a bed and a room; they buy an experience," Heib says.

Now the question being examined is whether the strong summer will continue even after the peak of the vacation season. At Dan, they say that the trend continues into the holiday period, although "not on the scale of August." At Fattal, they also report high occupancies during the holidays, and at The Colony boutique hotel, they say that after a slight slowdown at the beginning of September, "very significant momentum in occupancies" was recorded again.

At the Tourism Association, they hope that the lineup of events in the city will help maintain momentum later in the year as well. Amitzur notes among other things the Film Festival, municipal heritage activity planned for October, events and festivals in November, and the Holiday of Holidays events in December. "We have been working very hard over the last year and a half to be on the tourism map, so that people understand that Haifa is something else, something they haven't experienced yet and should come and experience," Amitzur concludes.