International tourism has recovered from the Corona crisis and is returning to record volumes, and Israel is considered an attractive destination for outbound and inbound tourism. Over 750 exhibitors, from more than 40 countries, participated in the opening of the international tourism exhibition IMTM in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism, in the large Expo conference hall in Tel Aviv.
The 158 colorful pavilions at the fair, where a variety of offers for trips and flights in Israel and around the world were presented, created a colorful experience of a variety of cultures, landscapes and attractions in one large hall. Among the delegations that participated in the exhibition this year were from Morocco, Philippines, Azerbaijan, Japan, Georgia, Spain, Turkey, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Italy and Bulgaria.
Tourism Minister Haim Katz said at the opening ceremony: “Contrary to the Treasury’s position, tourism 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 For someone who can improve his balance sheet by robbing tourism in Israel – he is wrong.”
Katz added that his office is working to quickly and efficiently promote projects to develop and upgrade infrastructure, add hotel rooms and increase the tourist offer.
Haim Katz (Photo: Yonatan Zindel, Flash 90)
Bulgaria expects that after winter tourism, this year there will be an increase in summer tourism, to the coastal cities and also to trips in Sofia and throughout the country. “In 2022, there was a recovery and about 190,000 Israelis came to Bulgaria. The goal is to reach about a quarter of a million tourists from Israel per year, as was the case before the corona virus,” tourism officials from Bulgaria, who came especially to the international fair, told “Maariv”.
The pavilion of the city of Semkov in Bulgaria at the International Tourism Fair (Photo: Moshe Cohen)
Morocco also hopes to reach 250,000 Israeli tourists a year. The Moroccan Ministry of Tourism set up impressive and authentic booths, with a variety of offers for visits to Marrakech, Casablanca and trips of various kinds.
Morocco’s pavilion at the International Tourism Fair (Photo: Moshe Cohen)
Uzbekistan’s pavilion at the International Tourism Fair (Photo: Moshe Cohen)
Along with offices, bureaus and tourist agencies, airlines also participated in the fair, including El Al, Israir and Arkia, along with airlines from other countries in the world. The CEO of El Al, Dana Ben Tal-Gannessia, announced the imminent opening of a new flight line of the company between Ben Gurion Airport and Tokyo. The company expects that the line will have high occupancy, since Israel is also considered an attractive destination for tourism from Japan.
Another history will be recorded on Thursday, when after about 15 years airlines from Israel will start operating regular commercial flights to Turkey. The first flight will be of the Israir company and will be launched in a festive ceremony.
Airport (Photo: Shutterstock)
A new flight destination that will be opened for flights from Tel Aviv is the Trnava region in western Slovakia, when for the first time a direct flight line will be opened that will connect Tel Aviv to the international airport in the resort city of Pashitni, starting on April 18. The OVERSEAS Tourism Bureau (of the Genesis Group) has signed an agreement to operate The direct flights, which will be operated by sky planes.
Another new destination against the background of the tide in tourism, will be the operation of two weekly flights by Eshat Tours to the airport of Exos in the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece, starting on May 7. Eshat Torres announced that it will market in addition to flights five-star all-inclusive or half-board hotels on the peninsula.