As tourism numbers to Israel continue to expand and smash to smithereens all previous records, it might come as a bit of a surprise to see that India has now displaced Korea as the top Asian source for visitors to Israel.
2010, a record year for tourism to Israel, saw 41,000 tourist arrivals from India. As a result, the Israeli Ministry of Tourism now sees India as a market with huge potential, and is planning on opening a satellite office in Mumbai within the year.
The Ministry believes that some 60,000 Indian tourists will arrive this year, and is about to embark on a $1 million campaign to tie in with some of India’s leading travel companies and boost still further those arrival numbers. There will also be plenty of trade fairs, road shows and food festivals (hummus and falafel!?) to whet potential Indian tourists’ appetites…
The recently simplified visa procedures for Indian citizens are also expected to boost numbers.
Israel’s national airline, El Al, presently runs four flights a week from Mumbai to Tel Aviv but is also looking to add a twice-weekly direct flight from Delhi to Tel Aviv.
To all visiting from India – Namaste!