Following the recent unrest in this part of the world and the undoubted hit to tourism that many countries in the region will experience, Israeli Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov has decided to take the bull by the horns and remind the world that Israel is just that little bit different from its neighbours…
The stats for 2011 so far have been very promising, with 466,000 so far in January and February, up 7% on last year’s record numbers. February itself was actually down very slightly, largely due to a big drop in land crossings from Egypt.
As a result, over the coming days a new 45 million shekel advertising campaign is being launched worldwide, just to remind the world’s travelers that Israel is “a safe, accessible and attractive tourism destination.”
This campaign will run for several months in target countries for incoming tourism, including the USA, Russia, Germany, UK and Scandinavia. Jewish tourists in France will also be targeted heavily, as they typically vacation in North Africa in the summer. Positioning Israel as an alternative to these North African countries makes a lot of sense.
Do we still think a record year for tourism is on the cards? Oh yeh!