Around 500 Filipino hotel workers are expected to be deployed in Israel by next month as the foreign land reopens its tourism industry, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.
Israel's hotel sector is expected to require a full workforce to cater to the expected influx of visitors to the Holy Land as it moves to reopen its tourism industry by allowing the entry of both vaccinated and unvaccinated travelers, and easing of its travel and health restrictions.
In a meeting last March 14, Philippine Ambassador to Israel Macairog S. Alberto and officials of the Israel Hotel Association (IHA) discussed the joint efforts to expedite the deployment of Filipino hotel workers to Israel.
It was disclosed that the initial batch of 500 Filipino hotel workers will arrive in Israel in the first week of April, ahead of Passover and Holy Week, both peak holidays and tourist-draws for the country.
During the meeting, IHA shared that its members may require up to 10,000 laborers and expressed readiness to hire 800 Filipino hotel workers, which will then be increased to 2,000 at the earliest opportunity.
The DFA said IHA also praised the Filipino workers’ professionalism, English proficiency, and work ethic.
Alberto also assured IHA that the Embassy is working closely with the Philippines' Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), as well as with Israeli labor and immigration authorities for the earliest deployment of Filipino workers.
The ambassador also proposed that Israeli hotels also take in Filipino students on on- the-job training programs, which the IHA positively received and committed to consider after the initial deployment of Filipino workers have been accomplished.
The project is under the 2018 Philippines-Israel labor agreement for a government-to-government arrangement for Filipino hotel workers for Israel.