23 December 2016 – Representatives of six major travel agencies from Israel visited popular tourism destinations in the Philippines through the Familiarization Tour organized by the Department of Tourism and the Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv.

From December 06 to 12, the group composed of CEOs and managers of Ophir Tours, Mona Tours Ltd., Ayala Travel and Tours Ltd., Galaxy Tours, Ypaymore Ltd. and Alpha Club-Ganim Tours visited Cebu, Bohol, and Metro Manila. They were joined by Philippine Ambassador to Israel Neal Imperial and Mr. Francisco Lardizabal, Head of the DOT – Market Development Group as part of the DOT’s drive to tap the rapidly growing Israeli market. As of September 2016, a total of 11,800 Israelis have visited the Philippines, a 34% increase from last year.

The tour group held business-to-business meetings with Philippine tour companies, conducted ocular visits to major hotels and experienced activities such as snorkeling, watching dolphins in Bohol, a historical tour in Cebu, and shopping in Manila.

“Through the Familiarization Tour, the participants were able to experience the exciting destinations of the Philippines and learned more about the beauty of our country and people,” said Ambassador Imperial.

“Israel is becoming an important source of tourists for the Philippines with double-digit growth registered in the last three years. The Familiarization Tour is an initiative to establish a long-term relationship with Israeli travel agencies in working together towards the promotion of Philippine tourism,” Mr. Lardizabal emphasized. END