‘Tourists our best ambassadors’, says Israel’s Ministry of Tourism at London’s ExCel

The new head of Israel’s Ministry of Tourism has thanked the UK Jewish community for standing by the country’s side over the past two years, saying the country ‘does not take it for granted’. 

Speaking to Jewish News following the opening of the Israel stand at the World Travel Market at London’s ExCel on Tuesday 4 November,  director general Michael Izhakov said: “it’s very important to show our gratitude for the fact that they travelled in such large numbers over the last two years. We don’t take it for granted.”

Newly in post, Izhakov’s aim is to encourage the “building of new hotels and new homes”, with incentives for investors including 20% grants for eligible projects.

Tourism accounts for between 5 and 7% of Israeli GDP, employing more than 150,000 people directly. Last year saw a 68% reduction in visitor numbers from 2023 (962k), with 79k of those coming from the UK.

Izhakov added that the biggest challenge is “assuring tourists that Israel is safe”, noting the “huge gap between the true reality in Israel and the way that it’s covered in the newspapers. Fact: not one tourist was hurt during the war, but unfortunately we don’t have enough budget to campaign against antisemitism.”

The director general later met communal representatives, including UJIA’s Mandie Winston and Adam Waters; the United Synagogue’s Anna Coleman and Barnaby Nemko; The Federation’s Avi Lazarus; the Board of Deputies Toby Greene; Jewish Leadership Council’s Debbie Fox; Spanish & Portuguese Synagogue’s Rebecca Doctor and UJS’s Arianna Sultan.

Joined by the UK director of the Israel Ministry of Tourism, Michael Ben Baruch and Eli Cohen and Sivan Detooker, president and chief executive of the Israel Hotel Association, Izhakov thanked the leaders for their continued support amidst discussions on future hopes for the tourism sector.

With one leader noting that the community’s “heart is blue and white”, the Jewish communal group stressed that solidarity with Israel had strengthened since 7 October 2023 and that there is increased demand from the community to return.

As Israel looks to rebuild the sector, the group committed to working together to plan and build even stronger ties between the UK Jewish community and Israel Tourism.

Highlighting his home town of Netanya, Mitzpe Ramon and the underground tunnels in Jerusalem as three of his personal favourite tourist choices, Michael Izhakov said: “If you want to support Israel, I want to say ‘come to Israel’. You are our best ambassadors.”