Number of Chinese tourists visiting Israel increased 66% since the beginning of the year

Almaty. September 21. Silkroadnews – Number of Chinese tourists visiting Israel increased 66% since the beginning of the year, “People’s Daily” reported.
“China continued to be Israel’s fastest growing source of tourists in the first seven months of 2017, Israel's top tourism official stated,” the report said.
One of the factors behind such growth is increase of direct flights to Tel Aviv from Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.
According to the Minister of Tourism of Israel Yariv Levin, more than 64,000 Chinese tourists visited Israel within January-July 2017 period, which is a 66% increase compared to the same period of last year and a 17% growth compared to the global average annual rate.
Reportedly, the Ministry of Tourism of Israel strengthens cooperation with Chinese online travel platforms, including signing an agreement on strategic cooperation with China’s largest online travel agency Ctrip earlier this month to promote the country’s unique tourism opportunities.
According to the publication, foreign trips are becoming more popular among wealthy Chinese citizens. The data by the National Tourism Administration of China show that about 62 million overseas trips were made in the first half of this year, which is 5% higher compared to last year.
According to Y. Levin, to meet the needs of this growing market, the Israeli Ministry of Tourism began training Chinese-speaking tourist guides and developing a version of its official website in Chinese too.