Israel's Ministry of Tourism sees Eilat overseas tourism quadrupling this winter. In the 2015-2016 winter season, 50,000 overseas tourists came on direct flights to the Red Sea resort, while last winter (2016-2017) this figure rose to 70,000. The Ministry of Tourism now sees this figure quadrupling to 280,000 overseas tourists flying to Eilat on direct flights this winter (2017-2018) rising to 400,000 within five years.
This expected jump is the result of a Ministry of Tourism campaign to pay low-cost airlines a small fee for each overseas tourist they bring directly to Eilat. Low-cost carriers Ryanair and Wizz Air are among the airlines that have taken the Ministry of Tourism up on its offer.
Minister of Tourism Yariv Levin said, "We are in the midst of a huge boost in building new hotel rooms following the unprecedented rise in tourism to Israel. We are recording an all-time record number of tourists coming to Israel this year and seeing very many businesspeople entering this sector."
The new Ramon Airport 18 kilometers north of Eilat, which is due for completion in the coming months, will also boost tourism to the Red Sea resort.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 5, 2017
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