PH travel to Israel hits new record

ISRAEL has broken its tourism record in Philippines along with reaching a whopping 3 million tourists arrival mark this year. More than 17,000 Filipinos have already visited Israel until October 2017 marking a growth of 62-percent from January to October vis-à-vis the same period last year as per statistics released by Israel Ministry of Tourism (IMOT).

Speaking about the growth, Hassan Madah, director of IMOT Philippines, said, “This has been the best year of incoming tourist arrivals for Israel and Philippines continues to be an important contributor for us. Our effort towards promoting Israel is yielding positive results and we are witnessing successful outcomes of our increased investments in the Philippine market.”

“Tourism is an important contributor to the Israeli economy and since the beginning of the year, tourism has brought in $4.1 billion into the economy. In 2016, 14,600 Filipinos visited Israel and we have surpassed that number by October this year. We hope to have 20,000 Filipino arrivals to Israel by end of 2017,” Madah also noted adding that Philippine passport holders can enjoy visa-free access to Israel up to 90 days.

Israel Tourism Minister Yariv Levin recently welcomed the 3 millionth tourist Ioana Isac accompanied by her partner, Mihai Georgescu from Romania with a festive reception ceremony at the airport. Levin and Tourism Ministry DirectorGeneral Amir Halevi then accompanied the excited couple to their awaiting limousine, as they set off for a dream holiday experience prepared by the Tourism Ministry of Israel.

The trip started off with an overwhelming surprise by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who met the couple and took them through a private tour of the Old city of Jerusalem starting with the Tower of David museum to the ancient fort that traces its foundations back to the Second Temple

As Israel reaches its all-time record, and 2017 is expected to close as Israel’s record year for incoming tourism, Tourism Minister Levin said, “This is a special day and an historic milestone as we break the 3-million-tourist barrier and we are set to end the year with an amazing achievement, the likes of which have never been reached since the establishment of the State. The huge investment that we are making in marketing Israel around the world and our collaborations with airlines and tour operators is bearing fruit.”

The Ministry of Tourism worked with several working towards increasing the marketing activities in the country.