04 October 2014 – The Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv, headed by Deputy Chief of Mission and Charge d’Affaires Neal Imperial, met with the Chairman of the Israel-Philippines Tourism Chamber, Yariv Fisher, on September 23 to boost tourism exchanges between the Philippines and Israel.

During the meeting, Mr. Fisher, who is also the CEO of Flyeast Ltd., the leading and biggest tourism company in Israel for flights to the Asia Pacific, said that there has been an increased interest among Israelis to visit the Philippines, apart from the other popular destinations in Asia and that this could be sustained through more intensive marketing.

To attract more visitors to the Philippines, the Philippine Embassy and the Israel-Philippines Tourism Chamber have embarked on several initiatives, including the familiarization tour in June 2014 involving Israeli celebrities, journalists and businessmen. To date, the familiarization tour, which was hosted in Manila by the Department of Tourism (DOT), is the first and biggest promotion event rolled out by the Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv.

It may be noted that in recent years the number of Israeli tourists visiting the Philippines has steadily increased at a rate of 30% based on data provided by the DOT. The Embassy plans to sustain this development by partnering with tourism organizations and agencies in Israel, launching promotional activities and joining events such as the annual International Mediterranean Tourism Market, the biggest tourism fair in Israel and visited by more than 20,000 guests. END