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Last update - 11:48 17/06/2008 Tourism Ministry to spend NIS 10 million on wooing Germans By Irit Rosenblum Tags: Israel, Germans, Tourism The Finance Ministry has given the Tourism Ministry NIS 10 million to boost marketing in Europe, in a campaign to be launched in Germany this August. As the dollar weakens, Tourism Ministry Director General Shaul Tzemach recently asked the treasury for more money to finance marketing campaigns that will focus on increasing tourism from non-U.S. countries. The largest single nationality of incoming tourists are from the US, where much of the ministry's marketing budget is spent. Based on the size of the additional budgeting, the Tourism Ministry chose to focus its campaign on Germany, in consultation with the heads of the tourism industry, with the idea of creating an effective critical mass. The German campaign aims to augment an already existing trend of German tourism, which has increased by about 50 percent since the beginning of the year. Advertisement The campaign will include advertising in newspapers and on internet Web sites, religious media, as well as in professional health-related publications, for the Dead Sea area. The advertising campaign will be supported by a variety of public relations and marketing activities. The campaign - the most recent in a series of ongoing marketing and advertisement campaigns in Europe - will also give broad emphasis to Eilat in advance of the 2008-09 season. It will emphasize the variety of flights available from Germany and Israel, and the option of landing at the Ovda airport. Starting in November - and for the first time in 15 years - the German airline Germania will operate two weekly charter flights from Dusseldorf and Berlin to Eilat. The flights will be supported by the Tourism Ministry, which will provide a 'safety net' for the charter airline. Germany is the third-largest source of incoming tourism from Europe, with more than 100,000 tourists from Germany having visited Israel in 2007, up 13 percent from 2006. About 48,000 Germans have already vacationed in the first four months of 2008, up 49 percent compared with the same period last year. The Tourism Ministry is hoping to see 200,000 in Israel annually by 2010. Tzemach said that in spite of the global crisis, the tourism industry remains stable, and the number of tourists continues to increase. "Nevertheless, with the continuing erosion of the dollar exchange rate, marketing efforts in European countries must be increased, in order to avoid substantial damage to the tourism industry," he said. Related articles: German neo-Nazis: We're pro-Israel, condemn anti-Semitism Nazi war criminals: Too old for justice? Demjanjuk not to be deported unless extradition is requested A rare gem Swastikas in Jerusalem Bookmark to del.icio.us   Sarkozy's promise 'France will never compromise Israel's security' Israel's agenda Is an Israeli strike on Iran still on the government's agenda?   1.   German tourists 06:02  |  Luther 17/06/08   2.   Well... 08:08  |  Esther 17/06/08   3.   # 3 esther 00:45  |  Axel 19/06/08   4.   good move 01:56  |  potobac 19/06/08   5.   why only Germans? 10:18  |  sweis Melbourne 23/06/08

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