22 September 2015 - Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario received Israeli Minister of Tourism Yariv Levin on September 18 at the Department of Foreign Affairs. Minister Levin was in the country for an official visit from September 16 to 21.
The visit of Minister Levin to the Philippines is his first official trip abroad as Minister of Tourism since his appointment in May 2015.
The ministers discussed matters concerning tourism cooperation. Both sides agreed that there is a huge potential in increasing the volume of tourism traffic between the two countries.
In 2014, a total of 8,776 Israeli tourists arrived in the Philippines, making Israel the third largest tourist market of the Philippines in the Middle East, next to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. There has been a steady growth in Israeli tourist arrival to the Philippines since 2010, with the first half of 2015 showing a 44% growth compared to the same period in 2014.
Based on 2013 figures of inbound tourist arrival to Israel, the Philippines ranks 6th in Israel's top markets in Asia, with 11,300 Filipino tourists visiting the country.
The ministers agreed to further strengthen bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on regional issues. END