Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov will depart for Russia on Thursday for his first official state visit. During his six-day trip, he will meet with the Russian Minister of Tourism in efforts to increase Russian tourism to Israel. The Tourist Ministry stated in a news release that Russian tourism to Israel still takes second place after the United States. In April, Russian tourism to Israel increased by four percent, in comparison with the previous year.

The Ministry of Tourism views Russia as a main generator of Israeli tourism. The Ministry has taken drastic measures to increase tourism from Russia, including the cancellation a requirement for Russian citizens to obtain visas and running a NIS 25 million promotional tourism campaign in Russian media.