Booking.com Names Rosh Pina Most Welcoming City In Israel

By NoCamels Team February 01, 2021 3 minutes

Hameiri Estate in Rosh Pina was one of the accommodations that won an award as part of the online booking giant's Traveller Review Awards 2021. Courtesy

The northern Israeli city of Rosh Pina, one of the country’s first modern Jewish agricultural settlements, was named the most welcoming city in Israel, according to Booking.com’s Traveller Review Awards for 2021.

Online travel booking giant Booking.com recognized partners across 220 countries and territories around the world “who made travel experiences more memorable for travelers” as part of their Traveller Review Awards for the year.

The company presented over 1.14 million awards to hotels, apartments, rental car services, and destinations, including 3,109 awards in Israel

“The breadth and spread of winners in the Awards’ ninth year is a powerful testament to Booking.com’s partners’ dedication and resilience, as they managed to provide incredible travel experiences for people in every corner of the globe amidst a year of untold challenges for the entire industry,” Booking.com said in an announcement.

“As trips became fewer and further between, each and every trip meant more to travelers than ever before, and it has become even more important to celebrate the outstanding service that the Traveller Review Award winners displayed during a year like no other,” added Arjan Dijk, SVP and chief marketing officer for Booking.com.

In Israel, Rosh Pina topped the list with the highest percentage of total eligible properties in the city followed by cities like Akko, Mitzpe Ramon, Had Nes, Arad, Nazareth, Beersheba, Eilat, Caesarea, and Haifa. Rosh Pina and Mitzpe Ramon took the lead in the northern and southern districts, respectively, while Herzliya led the Central district, according to the divided rating.

Destinations were divided by the total share of Traveller Review Award 2021 winners when compared to the total amount of eligible properties in that city (accommodation only). Destinations also had to have an above-average amount of winners to be included on this list (50 award recipients or higher) and were curated for geographic spread.

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Hotels remained the second most-awarded accommodation type globally for 2021, according to Booking.com. For the fourth consecutive year, four out of the five top-awarded accommodation types globally are unique places to stay, including apartments, holiday homes, guest houses, and bed and breakfasts.

In Israel, the most awarded accommodation types for 2021 include apartments, lodges, hotels, guest houses, and holiday homes. The accommodations that have won awards this year include Hameiri Estate suites in Rosh Pina, Zidan Sarai apartment in Akko, Desert Call in Arad, the Casa Rosa guest house in Eilat, Biazi Hotel in Jerusalem, Renoma Hotel in Tel Aviv, Pina BaGilboa in Bet Alfa, the Dalia Barama cabin in El-Rom, and more.

Recent Booking.com research shows that almost a third (32 percent) of Israelis have taken a trip to visit family and friends in 2020 and more than a third (33 percent) of Israelis traveled more domestically in 2020 when compared to 2019. This is in line with Booking.com’s global number of 32 percent, a number that they received after research conducted among a sample of 47,728 respondents across 28 markets.

“As road trips and domestic travel became more common over the last year, Booking.com understands the immense undertaking that its transport partners faced including increased customer demand in certain markets and swift introduction of increased cleanliness measures in between pick-ups, provision of masks and sanitizers, and minimizing customer contact and social distancing, among other initiatives,” the company said in a statement.

“On our mission to make it easier for everyone to experience the world, our partners play such an impactful role in delivering amazing experiences to travelers and I know that with their tenacity, partnership and passion, we can rebuild travel together, and help more and more travelers to rediscover our beautiful world over time,” said Dijk.