Israelis Serious About Developing Stronger Tourism Ties with Greece

Israelis are keen on developing stronger tourism ties with Greece through a series of joint actions and promotional initiatives and are also interested in visiting this summer despite the coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis, a report presented this week found.

According to the report conducted by the Greek Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel-based tourism bodies and visitors are awaiting the launch of flights and a health certificate framework in order to plan their visits to Greece as early as this summer.

The study goes on to list areas in which Greece and Israel can work together to stimulate tourism flows between both countries. Issues tabled include the finalization of a framework of cooperation for a “safe tourism zone”; re-installing direct flights between Greece and Israel as well as to specific destinations within the two countries; the development of special interest travel packages focused on medical, food, agro, diving, winter and athletic tourism; targeted tourism promotion of Greek destinations with a Jewish history; the organization of events and fam trips by both countries for additional promotion; and the further expansion of a three-country cruise with stops in Greece, Israel and Cyprus.

Last week, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would be “happy to enter into safe flight agreements”, The Times of Israel reported.

It should be reminded that the number of Israeli visitors to Greece increased over the 2018-2019 period by 26 percent with more than 680,000 visitors recorded in 2019.