In 2023, Israel launched its new long-term tourism strategy. The strategy sets a target of welcoming 7 million international tourists annually by 2030 and analyses all the different aspects of the 'tourism world', from creating products, marketing them, to enhancing the entire tourist experience. The strategy has outlined five major targets for the coming years:
Increasing tourism travel to Israel and its revenues.
Developing new diversified, competitive, and sustainable tourism products.
Improving the value for money and tourist satisfaction.
Strengthening the supporting infrastructure in the Ministry.
Promoting and strengthening the human resources in the tourism industry.
For each target, Israel has established several long-term goals, such as improving the impact on the economy through domestic tourism. Each year, Israel establishes a work plan consisting of numerous assignments, linked to specific goals and targets. All assignments are prioritised based on their impact on the success of the long-term target, the likelihood of success, and the office's ability to influence the mission's success.
The work plan for 2024 includes: i) promoting investment to accelerate expansion of accommodation offerings and increasing diversification, ii) infrastructure development including implementation of the national zoning plan, infrastructure development from leading brands, re-investing in upgrading content in existing infrastructures and positioning the Ministry of Tourism as an initiating partner, iii) focus marketing on competitive brands, integrating domestic tourism as part of the product development and managing seasonality, and iv) improving tourist satisfaction. The internal priorities include develop working processes, forums, and promoting an organisational culture change, which will help the brand and product managers work synergistically. Products will be promoted based on the brand priorities and strategy.
Israel initiated tourism programmes to facilitate economic recovery and bolster the rebound of international tourists. However, the development of those projects has been slowed and stopped as a result of the security situation. Initiatives include:
Launching a fund for the promotion of international film and TV productions. In June 2022, Israel launched the ILS 45 million programme to encourage the production of international film and TV series in Israel. The programme would enable production companies to claim up to 30% of their expenses back if they filmed in Israel. The programme aimed to highlight the natural beauty and historical significance of Israel through the media.
Increasing investment in, and construction of, hotels in Israel. To reach Israel’s goal of welcoming 7 million international tourists per year by 2030, 12 000 additional hotel rooms would need to be added to the existing stock. The Ministry of Tourism aims to accelerate the pace of hotel construction by shortening planning procedures and by reviewing city construction plans. These measures will add to those taken in 2022 to diversify and increase supply, which include adjusting the height limit for hotel construction to add additional rooms in Eilat, and creating dedicated camping and glamping complexes.
Relaxing visa requirements for targeted countries. The Minister for Tourism announced in 2023 that Israel sought to increase arrivals from Asian markets and would allow Indian tourists to apply for visas online and reduce the questioning methods upon arrival in Israel. This initiative has been postponed to 2024.
Implementing an international tourism partnership programme. By advancing ties with other countries, Israel’s Ministry of Tourism is increasing the number of international tourists. These partnerships are seeking to increase the two-way flow of tourists and particularly focus on the younger tourists.
Increasing the number of direct international flights to Israel. In 2023, new direct routes with Australia, Ireland, Japan, Korea, and the United States were launched. The increase in direct flights aims to better connect Israel to the world and encourage more international visitors.
However, the development of those projects has been slowed and stopped as a result of the security situation with international tourism remaining down on pre-pandemic levels in Israel. The Israeli authorities have informed the Secretariat that the terrorist attacks of 7 October 2023 and the subsequent war have hit Israel’s tourism economy hard, bringing international tourism to a halt (down 33.9% in 2023). This is impacting exports and economy growth in the country more widely (OECD, 2024). Uncertainty about the evolution of these geopolitical conflicts and tensions has impacted international and domestic tourism alike, and a number of other services have been negatively impacted as well, such as tourism human resources and accommodations.
