The Israeli Ministry of Tourism announced an increase in tourist flow from Russia to Israel by 11% in January 2020 compared to the same period the previous year. For a month, 22 thousand tourists from Russia visited the country. 3,8 thousand of them came to Ramon Airport, which now serves the popular resort of Eilat.
The growth of tourist flow in the Ministry of Tourism of Israel was explained by the increase of charter programs from Russia, as well as Pobeda low-cost airline’s flights in Eilat.
As part of the ongoing program of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism to subsidize flights to Eilat, 129 flights from Russia arrived Israel from September 8, 2019 to February 8 this year, which is 70% more than last year. Israel refunds flight consolidators, airlines or tour operators 60 € per passenger.
In 2019, the country was visited by 318 thousand Russians. “I am sure that the number of Russian tourists in Israel will exceed 400 thousand by the end of 2020,” said Vladimir Shklyar, Director of the Department of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism in the Russian Federation and the CIS, Advisor to the Embassy of the State of Israel.
Experts in general share the optimism of the Ministry of Tourism of Israel, noting that the current situation could radically change with the opening of Egypt.
According to the executive director of Intourist Sergei Tolchin, the figure of 380-400 thousand at the end of 2020 is quite real.
It is obvious that it is difficult for Israeli resorts to compete with the leaders such as Turkey or the UAE, including due to limited hotel infrastructure and many other factors. But there is a positive trend, the expert said. Intourist this season was not able to implement plans to launch its own charter flight program in Eilat, but plans to do it next season.
The company Russian Express, whose flight program is based on flights of Ural Airlines, notes that demand for the destination has remained at the level of last year.
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