What is the potential to bring Indian tourists to Israel?

I think that there is a lot of potential to bring tourists from India to Israel and to show the Indian people that unlike what they may have heard of or imagined, Israel is quite different and that it is an amazing country. Very small, but amazing.

Could you tell us about the campaign that you are going to launch in India?

It is quite a comprehensive campaign, with influencers promoting Israel as well as advertisements, articles and other content through media and digital media and several other activities to showcase what Israel offers to Indian tourists.

This campaign is very India-focussed. Now, this is something that we have changed over the past few years. Now, wherever we run a campaign, we tailor it for that market. So the campaign in India will focus on the Indian tourists as what Indian tourists want to see and do can be very different from what other tourists, say from the United States, Singapore or Europe may want to do in Israel. So our Indian campaign is very targetted towards the Indian travellers.

And what would attract an Indian tourist to Israel?

Israel offers a unique cultural experience that feels like stepping into a fantasy world. Just imagine a place that feels like heaven. Spending a week in Israel is truly akin to visiting the paradise. Jerusalem is an essential destination, as it is a holy city. Even those who do not belong to the Abrahamic faiths can appreciate the profound sense of holiness and reverence that permeates the area.

The Dead Sea is another significant attraction and it is a place that many Indians learn about in school, making it particularly appealing to Indian tourists. Eilat is also a major draw. It can be likened to Goa, a vibrant resort destination filled with joy, parties and relaxation.

These are just a few of the many attractions in Israel, a small country with diverse landscapes. Visitors can experience the desert, the Dead Sea and majestic mountains. It truly feels like heaven, it is simply amazing.

With Air India resuming flights in March, what are your projections for Indian tourist arrivals?

We recognise the immense potential for tourism from India. However, as we emerge from the crisis, we are still uncertain about the initial numbers and reactions. Nevertheless, we are optimistic that in upcoming years, we will return to impressive figures, potentially reaching 70,000 tourists or even more. Currently, the number of tourists from India is relatively low.

What’s new in Israel’s hospitality sector? Any updates on hotel developments or infrastructure projects?

We have a chain like East Hotel, they opened another five hotels in the country and luxurious boutique ones. They are opening a new hotel in the King’s Lake and also another one in the Dead Sea and

in that area we didn’t open a hotel for a long time. As a ministry, we are giving lots of incentives for infrastructure to the municipalities so lots of infrastructure is happening in many places and we are pushing also the north and other places to invest more to attract these tourists. Because all the hotels were full with evacuated people and now we renovated all the hotels. We spent about ILS 250 million (USD 70 million) on renovation. After the Covid-19 pandemic, I think that a lot of tourists are changing. What they want to see it is not only the usual, nowadays tourists are looking for the added value. Something more spiritual, something to connect, to have the sense of community in a way.

So they are looking for not just new destinations, but also new feelings that they can have and I think that that way, Israel can offer for the leisure, mostly to the leisure tourism, special experiences that really it is impossible to see somewhere else. Let me give you an example of our desert. India also has a desert but we have wine in the desert, in southern Israel, where we have 55 wineries.

It is really a kind of a miracle. Therefore, it is something else. You can go glamping and you can sample the different varieties of wine there.  Israel has a 3,000 years history of wine so the wine that was tasted 3,000 years ago still exists there in the desert.

Then we also have Tel Aviv which is open 24 hours, and has more nightlife than Manhattan or Paris. Also, in Israel, we are closer to God, if you are a Christian, a Muslim or a Jew, if you are abroad, it is a long distance call. But here in Israel, it is a local call!