Israel celebrated a record number of foreign tourists in 2017. The country received about 3.6 million visitors and increased its foreign exchange revenue by 20 billion shekels in the sector.
Brazil contributes to this increase, 65% more tourists were registered than in 2016, jumping from about 30 thousand to just over 51 thousand Brazilian visitors. According to Renata Cohen, Director General of the Ministry of Tourism of Israel in Brazil, “the historic number of tourists in Israel is linked to innovative and creative marketing activities, which in Brazil are in the on and off-line universe for B2B and B2C, as well as the development of niche markets such as sports, marathons, and culinary, with its gastronomic festivals, as well as many others such as adventure, well-being and history. ”
Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin, “the record number of tourists who visited Israel last year is not an accident, but the result of a clear policy. The actions taken since taking over the position have brought to the country an increase of 700,000 tourists and a record for the economy, adding 20 billion shekels in revenue from tourism alone. ”
54% of tourism was Christian, with 39% Catholics, 33% Protestants and 22% Russian Orthodox; 59% of tourists visited the country for the first time. The main tourist-sending countries to Israel were the United States, Russia, France, Germany and the United Kingdom and the most visited cities are Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Dead Sea, Tiberias, Sea of Galilee and Galilee.
The hotels also had good results, in the first half of 2017 there was an increase of 11% in accommodation compared to the same period of 2016, with 402 tourist hotels operating in Israel with a total of 53 thousand rooms. For 2018 the novelty is that for the first time in 15 years, a new hotel is being built in Eilat: Astral will be a “low cost” option with 400 rooms using a business model that allows the guest to decide (and pay) according to the accurate services.
The global marketing actions of the Ministry have focused on some European countries, the United States and the Far East, as well as collaborations with online travel agencies (OTAs) such as Expedia and TripAdvisor in the world. In Brazil the investment was not lower than in 2016 and followed with expressive actions of public relations and B2B marketing promoting besides the Holy Land, but also the segmented tourism as gastronomic and sports.
Source: market & events
Photo: Press Release