Tourism Poster for Israel
Tourism Poster for IsraelIsrael Ministry of Tourism

Capitalizing on the recent boom in tourism, Israel's Tourism Ministry is allocating NIS 24 million to attract guests in the upcoming spring and summer.

The ministry hopes to entice 1.5 million tourists between May and September, with a goal of increasing tourists to Israel by an additional 1 million by 2012.

According to a press release issued by the Tourism Ministry, the advertising campaign will target Israel's most visited-from countries – the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Sweden, Germany, and Holland.

Posters for the new campaign promote the extraordinary dichotomy of Israeli locales. Tel Aviv is portrayed as pioneering and state-of-the-art yet also rooted in history, while Jerusalem is the city which "bring[s] the past to life", a place where history comes alive, "where the events that have most profoundly affected humankind took place."

The campaign will focus on Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, the Dead Sea, and Eilat, as well as sites in the Galilee and Negev.  Religious tourists, foodies, health buffs and extreme sports lovers will all be pursued as part of the tourism, alluring potential vacationers with the slogan "There’s a little bit of Israel in all of us. Come find the Israel in you."



Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov (Yisrael Beiteinu – Israel Our Home) proudly noted that Israel's tourism economy bounced back rapidly in the wake of the worldwide financial crisis of 2008, bolstering the Israeli economy and creating jobs. He urged an increase in the tourism budget as a means of bringing 3.3 million tourists to Israel in 2010, and 4 million in 2012, saying Israel still has to compete with other countries in the region that spend large sums on marketing to tourists. 

In March, Israel enjoyed the largest influx of visitors in its history.