Volume 2, No. 23. December 13, 2002
New Arrivals
It’s
a miniature park!
Mini Israel in Latrun, Israel, announces its arrival, December 1, 2002. Measurements:
60,000 square meters (15 acres), 300 models, 30,000 figures of which 3,000 are
animatronic, 700 vehicles, 20,000 miniature plants, one restaurant, one cafeteria,
two food kiosks, one gift shop, 200 employees.
Eiran Gazit and his long-suffering team of artisans and managers always figured
that if they could get Mini Israel built, people would come. They had aimed
for a Millennium eve opening, but a faulty tax assessment and succeeding bureaucratic
red top stalled that. They then aimed for spring 2001, but regional political
violence intervened. They then set their sites on fall of 2002.
Sure enough, when they opened on September 3, people came. Big time. About 25,000
people showed up over four days for a park with a capacity of just 4,000. The
subsequent traffic jams and security concerns prompted the police to close Mini
Israel down. The park waited another month before the police allowed it to reopen,
and then waited out the general national uncertainties arising from Issrael’s
tottering government.
Finally, the first week of Hanukkah, Mini Israel opened for real. The week saw
15,000 guests visit the park, 4,000 on each of the two sunny weekend days. “That
is what we strove for,” said Gazit, Mini Israel’s CEO. The park officially
is still in soft opening, with one section still unfinished. The official opening
ceremony will come in spring, if all goes well.
That’s a big if. A US$20 million investment, Mini Israel’s timing
is precarious. While the initial turnout is encouraging, and Gazit said the
park has secured group reservations well into next year, he is forecasting a
gate of about 300,000 for 2003. That figure is based solely on local tourism;
currently Israel is attracting no international visitors. “Once we get
international tourism, we’re expecting half a million.” On the other
hand, if there is a war in Iraq, local tourism will disappear, too, Gazit said.
At the least Mini Israel with its 1:25-scale depictions of various Holy Landmarks—historical
sites associated with three religions—has been a shaft of good news in
a troubled land. “The reaction has been amazing,” Gazit said. “People
understand we’re still under development, but we’re getting a big
‘Wow!’ The whole country was talking about us.”
Israeli television’s most popular show, the satire-laced “Only In
Israel” opened its season with a profile of the park. “We’re
on television every week,” Gazit said. “We’ve already been on
CNN, French television, Belgium television, Italian television. It’s creating
a lot of interest just because of the fact of the international political situation
and the security situation, yet a tourist attraction has opened. It couldn’t
happen anywhere else. It’s like a show of sanity in an insane place.”
Here’s wishing sanity prosperity. “We are praying for peace and hoping
that tourism comes back,” Gazit said. “It’s like a dream come
true, but now we have to return the investment.”
©2002, Minton Enterprises
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