This morning (Tuesday) the international tourism exhibition IMTM opened in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism for the 29th year.
About 158 booths, over 750 exhibitors, more than 40 countries, dozens of senior officials and ambassadors. The red ribbon cutting ceremony was held with senior officials including: Minister of Tourism Mr. Haim Katz, Ms. Tali Laufer, CEO of the Association of Travel Agents, Mr. Michael Federman, Chairman of the Coordination Bureau of the Tourism Industry in Israel, and Vice President of the Hotel Association, Mr. Jimmy Zohar.
The annual international tourism exhibition – 2023 IMTM – International Mediterranean Tourism Market, opened today (14.2) for the 29th time in Pavilion 2 at EXPO Tel Aviv. This year a record number of over 750 exhibitors, about 158 booths, over 40 countries and dozens of senior officials and ambassadors from around the world came to the exhibition. Among the delegations that participated in the exhibition this year: Morocco, Philippines, Azerbaijan, Japan, Georgia, Spain, Turkey, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Italy and more.
The red ribbon cutting ceremony, symbolizing the opening of the exhibition, was held in the presence of: Minister of Tourism Mr. Haim Katz, Minister of Transport of the Slovak Republic Mr. Andj Dolzel, Mr. Michael Federman Chairman of the Israel Tourism Industry Coordination Bureau, Director General of the Ministry of Tourism Mr. Danny Shahar , Ms. Tali Laufer, CEO of the Association of Travel Agents, Mr. Yossi Fatal, CEO of the Bureau of Tourism Organizers, Mr. Danny Amir, Chairman of the Bureau of Tourism Organizers, Vice President of the Association of Hotels, Mr. Jimmy Zohar, Ms. Attorney Yael Danieli CEO of the Association of Hotels and Entrepreneurs of the International Tourism Exhibition IMTM, Eyal Shmueli and Lior Gelfand.
Minister of Tourism Haim Katz at the opening ceremony of the international tourism exhibition IMTM: “Tourism, contrary to the position of the Treasury, is an economic catalyst and not a burden. The Israeli government must decide whether it wants tourism in Israel or not. I will do my best to increase the budget and prevent all unnecessary and unwise cuts If it seems to anyone that he can improve his balance sheet by robbing tourism in Israel – he is wrong. The office I lead aims to go the extra mile in the field of service, for the citizens of Israel and our guests from around the world. The money of the office will be wise. Already this year, we will operate according to a model based on As a result, we will not subsidize tourism that actually takes place outside of Israel, we will reward travel agents for marketing activities, only for their tourists in Israel. We are working to quickly and efficiently promote projects to develop and upgrade infrastructure, add hotel rooms and increase the tourist offer. The ministry’s budget will be realized in a measurable way. We will make sure that every Shekel will improve the Israeli tourist and holiday experience.”
Eyal Shmueli, organizers of the international tourism exhibition IMTM 2023: “We are happy and excited to open the international tourism exhibition IMTM 2023 for the 29th year. You can see how every year representatives of all the countries of the world come to the exhibition, since in recent years Israelis have been one of the main destinations in terms of tourism and business Among the different countries. This year, the exhibitors of the exhibition are revealing to the Israelis a wide variety of routes, flight lines and technological innovations, with the aim of closing deals for the rest of the year.”
Ms. Attorney Yael Danieli, CEO of the Hotel Association: “We started the year optimistically and are waiting to finish it and hit the forecasts and be at least as good as in 2019. I remind you that there is no tourism in Israel without tourists from the world and we believe that we will be able to safely overcome the obstacle that the Ministry of Finance currently faces In the form of an additional VAT for tourists, a decree that does not make any sense, we have passed, failure is not an option.”
Mr. Michael Federman, Chairman of the Coordination Bureau of the Tourism Industry in Israel: “I am proud to be at the 29th International Tourism Conference, the field of tourism is very important to the Israeli economy, I hope that the conference will be at least as successful as the 2019 and 2020 conferences.”
IMTM is the annual and long-standing event of the tourism industry in Israel and is organized by “Artra” Ltd. and Israel Travel News, in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and is held under the auspices of the Israel Hotel Association, the Bureau of Inbound Tourism Organizers to Israel, the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Tourism Association, Al- Al, the Travel Channel and the Association of Travel Agents in Israel.
IMTM is intended for all those involved in the various branches of tourism – domestic tourism, inbound tourism as well as countries and tourism agencies from abroad. The exhibition is regularly attended by a wide variety of Israeli exhibitors: tourism associations from all over the country, airlines, hotels, car rental companies, shipping companies, suppliers Services and attractions of various types in the field of tourism.The exhibition includes related professional meetings and conferences and a program for invited agents, as part of which hundreds of decision makers from around the world come to the fair who market Israel as a tourist destination.