Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air will operate a new route from Sibiu in Romania to Tel Aviv. Sibiu will be the sixth city in Romania from which the company will operate a direct route to Israel. The new route will entitle the Hungarian airline to a €500,000 grant from the Ministry of Tourism.
The Ministry of Tourism emphasizes that the number of incoming tourists from Romania grew 70% in the first quarter of 2018, compared with the first quarter of 2017, and 165%, compared with the first quarter of 2016.
Wizz Air already operates direct flights to Israel from Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara, Craiova, and Iasi. There will be two weekly flights on the new route - on Tuesdays and Saturdays - starting on July 14.
Minister of Tourism Yariv Levin believes that Romanian tourism has potential. A survey by the Ministry of Tourism found that a Romanian tourist spends an average of 6.3 nights in Israel and spends $761 during the visit. The survey also shows that 96.5% of tourists from Romania identify themselves as Christians, and a third said that their visit was for pilgrimage purposes. 50% of visitors from Romana are in the 25-34 age bracket, 15.9% are in the 45-54 age group, and 15% are in the 35-44 age group. The most popular places for tourists from Romania to visit are Jerusalem (73.4%), Tel Aviv-Jaffa (70.4%), and the Dead Sea (49.4%). 79,000 tourists visited Israel from Romania in 2017.
Wizz Air, founded in 2003, operates 600 routes with 141 destinations in 44 countries. The company operates 19 routes between Israel and 10 European countries. Its flights land at Ben Gurion Airport and Ovda Airport in southern Israel.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 7, 2018
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