Air India will begin flights between India and Israel by May this year. The national carrier is planning to open the New Delhi – Tel Aviv route with three weekly flights.
Yariv Levin, Minister of Tourism, Israel, said, “Air India’s chairman and managing director, Ashwani Lohani was deeply impressed with his visit to Israel and, in his own words, is convinced that the many Indian tourists who will visit Israel will find it an exceptional tourism destination. There is no doubt that the opening of the route, combined with our marketing efforts in India, will generate a significant increase in incoming tourism from India.”
Lohani said, “Air India is looking forward to the opening of the direct route to Israel in a few months’ time. I believe that this will have a positive effect on the tourism traffic between the two countries.”
The Israel Ministry of Tourism established its India office in 2014 and since then tourist arrivals from India to Israel has grown by 28 per cent. Regarding the growth in the India market, Hassan Madah, director, Israel Ministry of Tourism in India, added, “We are very happy with the growth in Indian travellers to Israel. In 2016, there were 44,672 Indian tourists that travelled to Israel, setting a new record for the highest number of travellers from India. With Air India commencing operations directly to Israel, we are confident of an increased influx of arrivals to Israel in 2017.”
