Israel aggressively marketing in India
Israel’s Ministry of Tourism organised its second roadshow in 2017 in India and travelled to six cities across the country, where they showcased their products through B2B workshops.
Hassan Madah, Director, Israel Ministry of Tourism India, led the delegation for the roadshow and revealed their growth story in India. “We opened our office a couple of years back in India and saw a potential here as it was the number one market in Asia. Asia particularly has not been a big source of arrivals to Israel. However, Indians have been travelling abroad, and we have launched our campaigns here to increase their numbers to Israel,” he revealed.
Israel received around 35,000 Indian tourists from January to July this year, which marks a growth of 37 per cent. “Growth is happening from India, and we are expecting more Indians to come to Israel, especially after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the country,” he said. In fact, there are more Israelis coming to India. With a population of 8 million, around 59,000 Israelis came to India last year.
Madah revealed that getting Israeli visa is easy, and will get better in the times to come. “Indians do not have much of a problem in getting visa to Israel. They can get group visa for 10 and more people through travel agents, who will get it done from the ministry. The group visa is hassle-free. We also want to make it easier for groups of more than five people to get the visa in five days, and visa on arrival or online visa for individuals who have a valid Schengen visa. For that, we are in talks with the concerned Ministry, and we hope it would be done very soon,” he informed.
There is good connectivity to Israel as well. El Al connects Mumbai with Tel Aviv 3-4 times a week, depending on the season. Even Turkish Airlines offers flight services from Mumbai and Delhi to Tel Aviv (via Istanbul), Ethiopian Airlines from Mumbai and Delhi to Tel Aviv (via Addis Ababa) and Aeroflot Russian Airlines from Delhi to Tel Aviv (via Moscow), as well as a few other European carriers. Madah insisted that the launch of Air India flight from Delhi to Israel would prove to be a gamechanger for them. “Prime Minister Modi announced on his visit to Israel that he wants Air India to fly from Delhi, and I hope this happens very soon. We are in talks with Air India for the same. They are currently figuring out the route they will be taking to Israel. Once these things are finalised, the flight shall start.”
We also want to make it easier for groups of more get the visa in visa on arrival or online visa for individuals who have a valid Schengen visa