Reema Lokesh – Jerusalem
The National Israel Tourism Office (NITO) – Project India recently conducted an exclusive familiarisation tour for members of the Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) to unique spots of the country to promote tourism both for MICE and leisure and also to educate the travel agents on the culture, opportunities and potential that Israel has to offer as a tourist destination. The delegation was led by Madah Hassan, director NITO – Project India. Judah Samuel, director of marketing, NITO – Project India worked with the TAFI team to promote Israel as a MICE and leisure destination.
The TAFI delegation led by president Zakhir Ahmed, were unanimous in their feedback about the trip being a real eye opener in many ways. The preconceived image of a region that was not tourist friendly and that it was only meant for pilgrim tourism and Holy Land tours was replaced with a rather positive approach that Israel can be also promoted as a leisure travel destination that goes beyond just pilgrimage. Though undoubtedly the destination has a powerful significance for three major world religions, there are places across the country that can be promoted for leisure and MICE tourism. The Dead Sea offers tourists a unique experience which is both therapeutic as well as fun. Tel Aviv has some excellent nightlife options, very pleasant walk ways in the Yaffo area and the north of Israel has some unique cruise options like that of sailing on the Sea of Galilee.
The TAFI team also met up with select Israeli suppliers who were confident to team up to strengthen the outbound business from India. The team also shared some realistic feedback that the price points and packages can be redesigned to suit the requirement of the price sensitive Indian traveller who looks for a value for money holiday option. The TAFI members who were part of the delegation were as follows, Zakir Ahmed, who lead the delegation, Pradip Lulla, Basheer Ahammed, Promod Kohli, Urvashi Mohan, Jayesh Tharani, Teddy Thomas, Rajat Bagaria, Bharat Shah, Dipak Patel, Paulose Mathew, Vijay Gupta and Gladwyn Pinto. El AL Israel Airlines came in as the partner airline.
