Tourism Minister Rabbi Benny Elon wants to share his wealth. He has instructed his office\'s representatives around the world to present not only Israel\'s tourism advantages but also the official government position on such matters as Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority. \"Our tourism representatives are often presented with political questions in the course of their work,\" Elon said, \"and we must take advantage of this for the purposes of public relations. They should also encourage Jews to visit Israel as an act of solidarity, and for this they must successfully present the current PLO terrorist offensive for what it is.\"
Elon noted other \"fronts\" in his tourism and public relations campaign, including groups of Jewish students in Israel who are being trained under the auspices of the Tourism Ministry to present Israel\'s case on their college campuses in the Diaspora. \"Another generally neglected target group for our message,\" he said, \"is the Christian Zionist community.\" When asked if his initiative will conflict with Foreign Ministry activities, Rabbi Elon said that he is not instructing his employees to initiate PR activities, but only to present Israel\'s case when the opportunity arises.
In other tourism news, the current difficulties did not deter several public and private groups from hosting, for the 8th time, an International Tourism Fair this week in Tel Aviv. Close to 100 representatives from 19 countries as diverse as Holland, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and others took part in the event. Arutz-7\'s Ofrah Lax reports that the goal was to encourage tourism from both within Israel and around the world - and the very fact that it was held during such times, and that so many international visitors arrived, is a sign of its success. Eyal Shmueli, Dir.-Gen. of ITN, one of the sponsoring companies, said, \"We decided, despite all, to conduct the fair, because we have great confidence, and the fact is that people come.\"
Learn more about tourism opportunities in Israel at these sites:
http://www.goIsrael.com
www.kibbutz.co.il
http://www.galilee-tour.org.il/new/edefault.asp?r=0
http://english.golan.org.il/
http://www.iyha.org.il/youth-hostels/english.html
Elon noted other \"fronts\" in his tourism and public relations campaign, including groups of Jewish students in Israel who are being trained under the auspices of the Tourism Ministry to present Israel\'s case on their college campuses in the Diaspora. \"Another generally neglected target group for our message,\" he said, \"is the Christian Zionist community.\" When asked if his initiative will conflict with Foreign Ministry activities, Rabbi Elon said that he is not instructing his employees to initiate PR activities, but only to present Israel\'s case when the opportunity arises.
In other tourism news, the current difficulties did not deter several public and private groups from hosting, for the 8th time, an International Tourism Fair this week in Tel Aviv. Close to 100 representatives from 19 countries as diverse as Holland, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and others took part in the event. Arutz-7\'s Ofrah Lax reports that the goal was to encourage tourism from both within Israel and around the world - and the very fact that it was held during such times, and that so many international visitors arrived, is a sign of its success. Eyal Shmueli, Dir.-Gen. of ITN, one of the sponsoring companies, said, \"We decided, despite all, to conduct the fair, because we have great confidence, and the fact is that people come.\"
Learn more about tourism opportunities in Israel at these sites:
http://www.goIsrael.com
www.kibbutz.co.il
http://www.galilee-tour.org.il/new/edefault.asp?r=0
http://english.golan.org.il/
http://www.iyha.org.il/youth-hostels/english.html