Israel spends €5m on promotion in Russia

During the 3rd Annual International Forum ‘Jerusalem - Tel Aviv: two cities – two worlds’, Neta Briskin-Peleg, department head of Israel’s Tourism Ministry in Russia and the CIS and tourism consultant of Israeli Embassy in Russia, said that this year Israel expected about 630 thousand Russian tourists, and last year the country had been visited by 603 thousand Russians.

According to her, Russian tourist flow to Israel is currently among the fastest-growing to the country: during 6 years the number of tourists from Russia increased 312% and the number of direct flights went from 45 to 78 flights a week. Today, direct flights to Israel are available not only from the two Russian capitals, but from Krasnodar, Kaliningrad, Samara, Yekaterinburg, Rostov on Don and Ufa. TRN correspondent reports that this summer direct flights will be organized from Kazan as well.

Ms. Briskin-Peleg also said that Israel could easily be classified as a year-round destination, since the country is surrounded by 4 seas and has a versatile excursion programme that would require several visits to be fully exhausted.


 

“About 30-40% of tourists in Israel are repeat tourists. There are lots of historical and cultural sights in the country that cannot all be covered during only one visit,” she says.

According to the head of the department, a lot is being done in Israel to ensure that Russians feel welcome there; in particular, Russians-oriented hotel infrastructure and services are being actively developed.

“Today, each hotel in Israel employs Russian-speaking staff. Also, professional Russian-speaking guides work all of the country’s excursion itineraries,” said Ms. Briskin-Peleg.

Israel invests heftily in advertising its tourism product. Briskin-Peleg estimates this year’s investments to be 5 million euros. The second stage of this ad campaign, on which Israel plans to spend 2.5 million euros, starts in September.

The main faces of the campaign will be Kseniya Sobchak, TV host Dmirty Dibrov, and theater and film actor Emmanuil Vitorgan.

The campaign will include ads on the internet, in the printed media and in cinemas, as well as outdoor advertising. Ads will only run in the Russian cities that organize direct flights to Israel.