As the State is making concerted efforts to promote tourism to the Dead Sea, the hotels surrounding the site, as well as Dead Sea Works, are thwarting the process as they try to block a promenade from being installed along the shore. It is hoped that the promenade will attract many tourists, and will also include a bike path.
The hotels are worried that what they have deemed their own "private" beach will be accessed by tourists and travelers who are not guests of the hotels. They are also concerned that various attractions that may spring up in the environs will draw hotels guests out of the hotels.
Dead Sea Works is concerned that the plan to pave a bike path along the beach will cause problems in their industrial activities at the site. The industrial player uses the reasoning that if it weren't for their industrial evaporation ponds at the southern basin of the sea near the hotels, the area would dry up and there would be no water there.
However, in contrast with the drastic drop in the water level in the sea's northern basin, every year it turns out that the high salt concentrations on the pond bed resulting from the evaporation processes taking place cause the water level to rise, threatening to flood the hotels along the main pond – Pond 5.
The company could improve the situation if they would scrape the salt off the pond bed, thus restoring the original water level. A temporary protection apparatus for the hotels is currently being looked into, but in the meantime, a solution to the problem has yet to be set.
From the Dead Sea Works' perspective, no bicycle path should be planned until the flooding issue is solved, which could cause future damage to their ponds, because tourist development could clash with their future industrial developments.
The hotels' opposition to the Tamar Regional Council's plan to install a promenade along the beach is more difficult to understand. Council Head Dov Litvinoff said that some of the hotels treat this public land as if it were there own private property and even, similar to what happened along the Sea of Galilee, erect fences in order to block passage along the beach in front of their hotels.
"The beaches that aren't located directly on the beach support the move, of course. The ones in opposition are those sitting on the beach," explained Litvinoff.
"Such a promenade will allow people to walk along the beach. Coffee shops could be set up. You could ride bicycles and look at the sea. This has huge advantages for tourism. It must be understood that this promenade will also provide temporary protection against the flooding until a full solution is found to protect the hotels," Litvinoff said.
Attorney Gideon Fisher said in the name of Israel Hotel Association, "Instead of focusing on cosmetic issues, it is best that the State create long-term defenses against flooding, according to what was decided in court."
The Dead Sea Works responded, "We operate the pond along which the tourism industry is located, and we support tourism development. However, for this tourism development to be possible, the necessary protections must be made."