Amid renewed travel optimism following the recent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the Israel Ministry of Tourism (IMOT) strengthened its engagements at Asia’s leading travel trade show, ITB Asia 2025, held recently at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.Â
The participation underscored Israel’s intent to deepen ties across Asia’s high-growth travel markets, highlighting the destination’s evolving identity that unites its heritage and modern leisure offerings.
Israel’s Ambassador to Singapore Eliyahu Vered Hazan inaugurated the Israel pavilion, which drew interest from members of the travel trade, MICE operators, and potential partners.
The Israeli delegation included IMOT International Marketing Director Hassan Madah, Tourism Affairs Consul in China Olya Gurevich Lucas, IMOT–India Marketing Director Amruta Bangera, IMOT–Philippines Marketing Manager Anna Oraiza Aban, IMOT–China Marketing Manager Li Zimu. Together, they led a series of strategic meetings with tour operators, airlines, and business event planners to advance collaborative marketing initiatives.
Israeli destination management companies (DMCs) co-exhibited alongside IMOT, garnering positive reactions from attendees toward Israel as a preferred destination.
The team conducted more than a hundred interactions over three days, generating a pipeline of collaborations for the coming years. Key discussions focused on co-marketing alliances, enhanced air connectivity, and tailored itineraries for Asia’s evolving travellers.
Showing an upward trend, Israel attracted 118,200 tourists in August this year, a 39% increase from July. Between January and August 2025, there were 814,000 tourist entries, compared to 672,400 in the corresponding period of 2024, registering 21% increase.
Asia has been a key market for Israel with India, Indonesia, the Philippines, China, and South Korea leading. Israel sees the steady rise of tourism as proof of Asia’s growing confidence and curiosity in Israel’s mix of culture, culinary, eco-consciousness, wellness, and adventure travel experiences.
“The enthusiasm we’ve seen from Filipino travellers and partners at ITB Asia truly reflects how Israel remains a top bucket list destination for many Filipinos,” Aban said. “With visa-free access for Philippine passport holders, we’re confident that more Filipinos will soon turn their dream trips into reality. The strong interest from the market and travel trade inspires us to continue developing experiences that connect deeply with Filipino travellers, whether through faith, culture, or adventure.”
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