The Pope’s recent visit to the Holy Land has apparently convinced the new Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov that good, old Christian values are the way forward, leaving no room for the poster girls such as Bar Refaeli, that have, er, inspired millions to visit the Holy Land. The Minister seems to think that Israel’s quality lies in its amazing tourist attractions, rather than its beaches and bikinis, and had this to say:
“Former tourism ministers were mistaken when they tried to market Israel as a vacation spot for those seeking attractive beaches and girls. Ministers who focused on pictures of or with models thought it would bring tourists to Israel. But their mistake was that our neighbors also have attractive women and beaches and we can’t compete with them in terms of prices of vacation packages.
What Israel needs to do is focus on what it has that others don’t have, or in other words: the Holy Land. Israel is holy to Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and the focus of the tourism ministry today is to promote Israel as such.”
Without question, Israel has some amazing Holy sites that attract millions of tourists every year. These will always pull in the visitors. I’m just not sure you can take Israel’s other natural beauties such as Bar Refaeli out of the equation and I don’t think they harm the perception of the Holy Land as a great tourist destination. Surely any decent, respectable tourist, even if tempted in by the scantily-clad models used in adverts, is a good thing, especially in tough economic times?
Don’t worry Bar, if Stas won’t have you, we’ll gladly have you as our poster girl. Just don’t tell the wife.