Mumbai: Israel is eyeing 25-30 per cent growth in tourist arrivals from India this year, mainly aided by direct air connectivity between the two countries and aggressive promotions, an official has said.
The West Asian country had hosted 44,672 Indian tourists in 2016, posting over 13 per cent growth from the previous year.
"India is one of the world's fastest-growing outbound tourism markets and an important emerging market for us. Keeping this in mind, we have increased our investments heavily in India. In 2017, we are expecting 25-30 per cent growth in Indian tourist arrivals," Israel Tourism Ministry's Director for India Hassan Madah said.
He said the ministry is targeting Indian holiday- makers through its specially-designed advertising campaign, 'Begin your journey to Israel now', which is expected to yield good results by the year-end.
Statistics revealed a robust 93 per cent growth in Indian arrivals to Israel in the month of March 2017 compared to the same period in 2015.
Madah said, "We have seen a steady growth in tourist arrivals from India over the years and are confident that this trend will continue.
"Currently, El Al (that country's flag carrier) flies non-stop between India and Israel, while Air India has also announced it will begin operations on the New Delhi-Tel Aviv route in 2017. Increased air connectivity will surely act as an added impetus for more Indians to visit Israel for a holiday."
In the past popular for only holy land tours, today Indians go beyond the pilgrimage trail and are visiting Israeli cities like Tel Aviv, Haifa, Eilat and the Dead Sea Region, he said.
