With an aim to attract Indian tourists to Israel, the Israel Ministry of Tourism (IMOT) will embark on a campaign in four cities from July to August. The campaign, which will feature roadshows in the cities, will highlight the West Asian nation as an attractive tourist destination.

The first of the four roadshows will be held in Nashik in Maharashtra on 19 July, which will be followed by Ahmedabad in Gujarat on 27 August. The roadshow will then move to the eastern city of Kolkata on 29 August and conclude in the national capital, Delhi, on 30 August.

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“The plan is to organize 11 roadshows in different cities of India by end of 2018 and successfully introduce and reinforce the varied tourism offerings of Israel,” said Hassan Madah, Director, Israel Ministry of Tourism, India & Philippines.

The events will start off with a destination presentation leading to an interactive workshop followed by a press conference with the IMOT team.

Underlining the increasing arrivals of Indian tourists in Israel, with a record breaking 60,000 tourists in 2017, Madah said that the ministry is constantly striving to increase destination awareness among consumers, Indian travel trade and MICE agents. He added that maiden roadshows were recently held in Guwahati and Lucknow.

“Israel is becoming a popular destination among leisure and MICE travellers. Beautiful landscapes, historic attractions, availability of Indian food, increased flight connectivity, simplified visa process make Israel a great place for MICE and incentive travellers,” Madah said.

Some of the most visited places in Israel are the historical city of Jerusalem, the beach city of Tel Aviv, the Dead Sea and the Red Sea in Eilat known for its marvellous underwater marine life.

Besides Madah, the Israeli delegation will be led by Judah Samuel, Director – Marketing, Israel Ministry of Tourism, India and will include representative partners from the tourism industry of Israel.

While Israel continues to woo Indians, Air India announced an increase in weekly flight frequency on the New Delhi-Tel Aviv direct route. It will now fly four times a week starting 14 July 2018 with Saturday added to already existing flights on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday every week.

In addition to Air India, El Al Israel Airlines currently operates direct flights from Mumbai to Tel Aviv, and Arkia Israeli Airlines has also expressed interest to begin operations between Israel and India soon.

Furthermore, the country has reduced its visa fee as well to Rs 1,100 from its previous Rs 1,700 charge for Indian citizens to encourage Indian travellers to visit Israel.