This surprised me, but one of Israel’s biggest tourist markets these days is actually Russia, which is second only to the USA in annual tourist numbers to the Holy Land. In a bid to capitalize on the ever increasing numbers of Russian tourists to Israel, the Israeli Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov met his Russian counterparts in Moscow last week to push for additional flights between Tel Aviv and Moscow, as well as additional charter flights between Eilat and Moscow.
Despite the world’s economic downturn, Russian tourist numbers to Israel actually increased over the last year. As a result, the Israeli Ministry of Tourism naturally sees Russia as the source of some major tourist dollars (almost $300 million in 2008) and has even taken some quite dramatic steps to ensure a smooth as possible an entry process for Russian tourists to Israel, including the cancelling of visas for Russian citizens. This step has been seen to have a big impact on the numbers of tourists coming to Israel, and it’s only expected to increase. An additional $6 million advertising campaign has been lauched on Russian television and in Russian newspapers.
Russian tourists and their renowned passion for healthy living and spas, have also inspired the planning of a new Dead Sea resort, especially with the recent increase in visitors to Israel. The Dead Sea is a magnet for many Russian visitors – you might not see too many Russian tourists in Tel Aviv or even Jerusalem, but at the Dead Sea, they rule!
From 2006 to 2007 the number of Russian tourists to Israel actually tripled, to some 200,000. In 2008, numbers reached an impressive 360,000.
However, as some two million Russian tourists visited the Middle East in 2008, there appears to be a big opportunity to increase those numbers visiting Israel, especially without the need for a visa and all the paperwork involved.
We say bring on the Russian invasion! And to all our Russian visitors: Добро пожаловать в Израиль!
UPDATE: Comments are now closed on this article thanks to the huge numbers of Russian spammers flooding my Inbox in “response”. As I said, Russia loves Israel!