SA plays its part in Israel’s booming tourism figures

ANT KATZ

Incoming tourism statistics to Israel in January increased by 27 per cent over January 2016, with a record number of 210 000 tourist arrivals. January, being mid-winter, is a historically low month for tourism in Israel. Many Christian tourists arrive in December to be in the country over Christmas, but stay well into January.

South Africa represented 35 per cent of all African tourist arrivals to Israel, while, in turn, Israelis represent a whopping 49 per cent of all Middle East tourists coming to South Africa.

Israel’s Tourism Minister Yariv Levin, said: “For the last few consecutive months, we have witnessed record figures in incoming tourism to Israel.”

This is no coincidence, said Levin, but rather it was the result of policy. “The marketing activities and the steps that we are taking to brand Israel in the campaign ‘Two Cities One Break’ are proving themselves time after time.

South African tourist arrivals in Israel in January this year (at exactly 1 000) represented 35 per cent of all African arrivals (2 900) enhancing South Africa’s long-established position as Israel’s largest incoming tourist contingent on the continent.

Conversely, the latest annual report from Statistics South Africa (Stats-SA) on tourist arrivals in South Africa during 2015, published in April last year, shows that Israeli tourists to South Africa represented a whopping 49 per cent of all arrivals from the Middle East.

A total of 39 482 Middle Eastern tourists arrived in the country in 2015, with 19 244 arriving from Israel. The peak month of tourist arrivals from Israel in 2015 was September, when 2 526 Israeli visitors came.

The 210 000 tourist entries recorded in Israel during January 2017, was a 27 per cent increase on the 165 000 arrivals in January last year and 25 per cent more than in January 2015.

In all 188 200 tourists arrived in Israel by air in January 2017, 23 per cent up on January 2016. A further 22 000 entered through the land borders, 76 per cent up on last year’s figure.

Minister Levin says that Turkey, after a hiatus of several years, is returning as a competitor in the international Mediterranean tourism market. Yariv Levin met with his counterpart the Turkish Tourism Minister Navi Avci earlier this year, as well as with other tourism ministers and leading figures in the global tourism industry who were in Israel to participate in an international tourism conference.

The Tourism Ministry consistently arranges new activities to encourage incoming and domestic tourism, including the second Tourism Ministry “hackathon”. This is a competition aimed at developing useful tourism apps using data provided by the ministry.

The competition was won by the app Livetrip, which allows tourists to locate attractions, restaurants, etc on a map and watch short videos. The developer won NIS 10 000 (R35 000 at today’s exchange rate).