Israeli tourists cannot wait to start coming to Turkey again

Antalya, which has been the favorite destination for Israeli tourists for many years, is getting ready to deserve this title again.  The number of Israeli tourists in Turkey is expected to increase dramatically with the direct flights from Tel Aviv to Antalya, which THY plans to launch in August. According to a most recent report, Turkey which hosted more than 500 thousand Israeli tourists in 2007 was not a preferred holiday destination for Israeli tourists any more after the deterioration of relations between the two countries in 2010. In the years to follow, the number of Israeli tourists went down to approx. 80 thousand. However the number of visitors from this country started rising again in 2015 and went up to 294 thousand last year. Based on data recorded by Ministry of Tourism this number has already exceeded 105 thousand in the first five months of 2017.

In the past year, 107 thousand Israeli tourists entered the country from Istanbul, while 170 thousand arrived in Antalya. The majority of Israelis come to Turkey on charter flights, and this figure is expected to increase with the start of Turkish Airlines scheduled flights. Based on news in the press the scheduled flights are planned to start in August, on a four times a week basis. The flights will be conducted by A320 and Boeing 737-800 type air-craft.

Culture and Tourism Minister Nabi Avci had made a visit to Israel in February and participated in the Israeli Tourism Fair. Attending the opening of the fair, the Minister had said “Despite all the provocations, we will continue to maintain our relations with Israel and we will thus put an end to provocations”. On the other hand Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin had stated that he aimed to increase the number of tourists between Turkey and Israel. Moreover, representatives of the sector had continued their contacts with visits during the year.