Tag Archives: Hassan Madah – Director Israel Ministry of Tourism India

Tapping on the success story of great advancements achieved by Israel in the agricultural sector over the years, Israel Ministry of Tourism is now bullish on the growth of Agritourism in the country. Israel is hosting the 20th edition of Agritech Israel 2018, one of the world’s most important exhibitions in the field of agricultural technologies, innovations and food processing.  From May 8 to 10, the exposition is held at the Israel Trade Fairs and Convention Centre in Tel Aviv and is attended by the Minister of State for Agriculture from the Government of India. Government officials, including representatives from the states of Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat are also present at Agritech Israel 2018.  Moreover, around 3000 travellers belonging to industries like Dairy, Irrigation, Organic Farming, Natural Fertilizers/ Pesticides and Water Harvesting are in attendance from India. Talking about the growing Agritourism from India, Hassan Madah, Director, Israel Ministry of Tourism – India & Philippines said, “Israel has had breakthrough achievements in the field of agriculture and is poised to play a major role in supplying the world with cutting-edge agricultural solutions. By developing world’s best irrigation methods for ecological farming, Israel has much to offer the world in farming know-how. Agritourism is an effective way to tap into that know-how. Through Agritech, 2018 and other such initiatives, we are witnessing a tourism boom in the agriculture sector of Israel from India. Many professionals are opting for an average of 5 nights 6 days Israel agri-tours and we are positive that Agritourism will successfully contribute to the Indian tourist arrivals to Israel in 2018.”  

Air India will begin non-stop flight operations from New Delhi to Tel Aviv in Israel starting March 22, 2018, onwards. The carrier has confirmed flying thrice a week on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday on Air India’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner that has 18 business class and 238 economy seats. The aircraft will depart from New Delhi at 4.50 pm and arrive in Tel Aviv at 8.25 pm. On its return leg, the plane will depart from Tel Aviv at 10.15 pm and land in Delhi the next day at 9 am. With one way duration of 7 hours and 10 minutes, Air India will be the fastest nonstop flight between India and Israel taking a straight route between the two countries. In addition to Air India, Israel’s national carrier El Al currently has four weekly nonstop flights from Mumbai to Tel Aviv and will soon increase its frequency furthermore. Arkia has also expressed interest to begin operations soon and introduce direct flights between Israel and India.The Ministry of Tourism along with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to facilitate similar introductions including relaxing visa requirements and express visa services through VFS to encourage Indian travelers to visit Israel. This announcement has come at a time when Israel Ministry of Tourism has recorded a whopping growth of 50 per cent in January and 25 per cent in February 2018, of Indian arrivals to Israel vis-à-vis the same period in 2017. Hassan Madah, Director, Israel Ministry of Tourism India & Philippines, says, “In light of the significant increase in incoming tourism from India over the past few years, the Ministry of Tourism has been in talks with Air India and other airlines …

Israel, for the second consecutive year has broken its tourism record in India along with three million tourists arrival mark this year. More than 49,000 Indians have already visited Israel until October, 2017 marking a growth of 34 per cent from January to October vis-à-vis the same period last year as per statistics released by Israel Ministry of Tourism (IMOT). Speaking about the growth, Hassan Madah, Director, Israel Ministry of Tourism India, said, “This has been the best year of incoming tourist arrivals for Israel and India continues to be an important contributor for us. Our effort towards promoting Israel as a dynamic holiday destination as opposed to its otherwise restricted perception as a religious destination is yielding positive results and we are witnessing successful outcomes of our increased investments in the Indian market.” He also added, “Tourism is an important contributor to the Israeli economy and since the beginning of the year, tourism has brought in $4.1 billion into the economy. In 2016, 45,000 Indians visited Israel and we have surpassed that number by October itself this year. We hope to have 60,000 Indian arrivals to Israel by end of 2017.” As Israel reaches its all-time record, and 2017 is expected to close as Israel’s record year for incoming tourism, Tourism Minister Yariv Levin said, “This is a special day and an historic milestone as we break the 3-million-tourist barrier and we are set to end the year with an amazing achievement, the likes of which have never been reached since the establishment of the State. The huge investment that we are making in marketing Israel around the world and our collaborations with airlines and tour operators is bearing …

The Israel Ministry of Tourism has launched its first advertising campaign for 2017 highlighting some of Israel’s sites and attractions – the modern city of Tel Aviv, the Dead Sea, the Baha’i Gardens in the port city of Haifa, the holy city of Jerusalem and more. Having made an investment of approximately Rs 13 crore in the advertising campaign in India, Hassan Madah – Director Israel Ministry of Tourism India said, “We have identified India is an important emerging market. Hence, in the last two years we have increased our marketing spends in India to attract more visitors. Our campaign this year aims to showcase that Israel has something to offer for everyone; be it honeymooners, families, adventure enthusiasts, food and wine connoisseurs, nightlife and contemporary travellers and history and culture lovers. We achieved a 13 per cent increase in Indians travelling to Israel in 2016 and we have a 16 per cent growth in the first two months of 2017.  We are confident that this campaign will further boost tourism to Israel.” The messaging of the campaign ‘Begin your journey to Israel now’ has been developed and conceptualized by Israel Ministry of Tourism with an aim to target the summer holiday planners in India. The campaign is visible on various platforms such as television, print, digital and hoardings. The month-long campaign involves a 30 and 60-second television commercial that is being broadcast across select channels in India.