The Israel Ministry of Tourism is all set to invest INR three Crores in the India market on a new digital campaign to further increase tourism footfalls from this nation. Starting off this month, the campaign will witness various social media and online media promotions, apart from broadcast and print media promotions. In 2015, Israel welcomed 39,529 travellers from India with a growth of 13.2 per cent over 2014.
Speaking about the growth Hassan Madah, Director-India and Philippines, Israel Ministry of Tourism said, “The growth so far from January to June 2016 is five per cent. We are expecting more now, as we are investing more in this market. Next week we are launching a campaign and now we are also having our multi-city roadshows. Under this new campaign, we will have advertisements on broadcast and print media’s. Digital media will be our strong as we are spending 3 Cr only on digital for social media and online media promotions.”
Earlier Israel was perceived only as a pilgrim destination in the India market. But now with the changing trends and awareness in the market, Israel has witnessed a mix of various travellers heading to the destination. Judah Samuel, Director of Marketing-India, Israel Ministry of Tourism said, “Two years ago when we opened an office in Mumbai, we were perceived as a pure pilgrim destination. We have changed this mindset and now established ourselves as an exotic destination in the India market.”
Madah further added, “The high end luxury travellers are one of the main targets for us. Israel isn’t a cheap destination when it comes to hotel pricing. Pricing in our country can be compared to some of the European destinations. We are targeting FITs and MICE business from India. Honeymoon is also one of the budding segments from India. When it comes to food, our cuisine has a lot of vegetarian food and we also have some Indian restaurants in the major cities.”
El Al, flag carrier of Israel, connects India with a direct flight TO Mumbai. In summers, El Al flies three flights a week, whereas in winters the numbers increases to four per week. Samuel said, “One of the major challenges in India is still connectivity. El Al flies directly to only Mumbai and the number of seats per week is less. The demand for travel from India is more than the capacity. With at least a daily flight from India this hurdle can be easily removed.”
