MANILA, Philippines - Israel remains as the country’s biggest tourist market in Eastern Mediterranean Europe with Israeli tourist arrivals increasing by 30 percent in January-September 2013.
Based on the Department of Tourism’s Visitor Arrival to the Philippines by Country of Residence report, there were 5,491 Israeli tourists from January to September 2013, which was 93 percent of the full 2012 figure (5,895), 110 percent of the full 2011 figure (4,990), and 121 percent of the full 2010 figure (4,525).
The same report indicated that tourist arrivals were highest in the first and fourth quarters of 2013.
The 2013 total figure, to be released early this year, is expected to break the 6,000 mark for the first time in many years.
The partial tally represents a 30 percent year-on-year increase and may easily bring in the third consecutive year double-digit tourist arrival growth, due in part to beefed-up tourism promotion efforts spearheaded by the Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv, in cooperation with the Israel-Philippines Tourism Chamber.
The embassy supported the creation of the chamber and its activities such as several travel seminars for potential tourists and more recently, its participation in the “X-Factor Israel†won by Filipino caregiver Rose Fostanes.
The embassy, in partnership with the chamber, also participated in the 2013 International Mediterranean Tourism Market (IMTM) in Tel Aviv for the first time in almost 20 years.
The IMTM is the biggest and most prominent travel fair in Israel organized by the Israeli Ministry of Tourism and sponsored by national carrier El Al, among other partners.
In the pipeline are the participation of the embassy and chamber in the 2014 IMTM and the long-proposed familiarization tour of Israeli VIPs, celebrities and journalists in the Philippines.
The familiarization tour, slated in March, comes right before the revival of the Manila-Tel Aviv direct flights of Philippine carriers.
The recent victory of Fostanes, the upcoming 2014 IMTM in February and the familiarization tour are all projected to deliver even higher tourist arrival figures in the first quarter and kick-start the momentum all throughout the year.