Israel Sees 31% Growth in Tourist Arrivals From India

New Delhi: Israel has registered a record 31 per cent growth in tourist arrivals from India, with about 60,000 Indian tourists arriving in the country in 2017, according to data released by Israel's Ministry of Tourism.

"Israel, for the second consecutive year, has broken its tourism record of Indian arrivals, reaching an all-time high of 31 per cent growth from January to December 2017 with around 60,000 Indian tourists visiting the country. This marks a whopping growth of 48 per cent in the last two years," an official release said.

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Hassan Madah, Director, Israel Ministry of Tourism India and Philippines, said India has been an important market and Israel has witnessed constant growth in arrivals over the last four years.

"The past year has been outstanding, and by far the best year for Israel tourism in India and worldwide. With over 20 million outbound tourists a year, India has been an important market for us," he said. He hoped that Indian tourist arrivals will go up to one lakh in 2018 with initiatives such as ease in the process of visa issuance and better connectivity.

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The release said there has been a renewed interest in all travel segments among Indians to visit the Israel following the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to India and the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Israel last year. It added that there is also growing interest among Bollywood producers to shoot in Israel. (IANS)