HOTELS
November 2025
ISRAELI ABRAHAM GROUP WINS TOP GLOBAL YOUTH TRAVEL AWARD Abraham Group Proves Tourism Can Be a Powerful Force for Social Healing and Unity
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PR Engagement”. This significant win provides a much-needed breath of hope and pride for the Israeli tourism company, which has consistently demonstrated that compassion, involvement, A braham Group (Hostels and Tours) has been honored with the prestigious 2025 Global Youth Travel Award in the category of “Best Local Community
and social responsibility can be instrumental in healing and that tourism can truly have a soul. The award was presented yesterday at the WYSTC (World Youth & Student Travel Conference) Global Convention in Lisbon, Portugal. The annual WYSE Travel Confederation awards recognize organizations and individuals who exhibit leadership, creativity, and a
commitment to advancing responsible and sustainable youth travel. The judging panel’s commendations highlighted the Abraham Group’s rapid and profound social response during the ongoing conflict: “The Abraham Group demonstrated over the past two years how a tourism business can transform into a genuine social catalyst. The
group immediately converted its hostels in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Eilat into emergency centers for hundreds of displaced families, and in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, established temporary educational facilities that created a sense of home for the children”.
Neot Smadar’s director of tourism said that the kibbutz’s guest rooms could not keep up with the influx of inquiries ISRAELI KIBBUTZ SWAMPED WITH BOOKINGS AFTER LISTING AMONG UN’S 52 BEST TOURISM VILLAGES
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and its commitment to sustainability “in all three dimensions: ecological, social and economic”.
model of a cooperative ecological community and offers an exceptional tourist experience that includes an Art Center—built over 15 years by community members—an organic boutique winery, an inn featuring local produce, desert guest rooms, artist workshops, stargazing alongside the Weizmann Institute’s survey telescope, and guided tours through breathtaking desert landscapes.
J ust days after Kibbutz Neot Smadar was added to the U.N. Tourism 2025 list of 52 Best Tourism Villages in the world, the kibbutz’s tourism director told that the small community in Israel’s south could not handle the flood of booking requests. “In the guest rooms they told me, ‘Enough, we’re collapsing, we can’t keep up,’” said Adva Meir-Weil. “Suddenly there were so many inquiries,” the director
added. The kibbutz, located in the southern Arava, was “very surprised” to be included in the prestigious U.N. list, Meir-Weil continued, “but on the other hand we worked four years [to achieve] this. When we received the announcement in September we were thrilled and glad,” she related. In the letter, the U.N. agency praised the kibbutz for its cultural and natural richness
The small towns were selected from over 270
applications from 65 U.N. Tourism Member States, according to the international body’s website. Following the recognition, Israel’s tourism ministry and the Southern Arava Regional Council issued a joint statement, saying that Neot Semadar “serves as a unique
22 • www.itn.co.il
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