On Tuesday, May 19, the Israel Ministry of Tourism held a Ministerial exchange ceremony between the outgoing Minister, Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin, and incoming Tourism Minister MK Asaf Zamir. Prior to his new position, Zamir was Deputy Mayor of Tel Aviv-Yafo from 2013 – 2018, the youngest Mayor to ever to hold this position. As Tourism Minister, Zamir is tasked with revitalizing both domestic and international tourism as countries across the world try to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have quite a few tasks ahead of us to help rebuild the tourism industry in Israel,” said incoming Tourism Minister, Asaf Zamir. “We want to open all the industries that support tourism including hotels, tourist attractions, restaurants, cafes and bars as quickly and safely as possible. Tourism is essential for the reconstruction and ignition of the Israeli economy, and we look forward to welcoming travelers from around to world to experience all we have to offer, from Eilat to the North, Nazareth to Tel Aviv-Jaffa, to Jerusalem and the Dead Sea.”
“While it is extremely difficult to leave my post at the Ministry of Tourism, I am very excited for what’s to come under Asaf’s leadership,” said former Minister of Tourism, Yariv Levin. “Together we have made unprecedented breakthroughs through unimaginable investments, establishment of new hotels, development of the digital field, and of course, accomplishments in marketing that have helped make Israel a top destination for travelers from around the world.”
In addition to his appointment, Zamir asked that Amir Halevi remain as Director General for the Israel Ministry of Tourism at this time.
“The first challenge that we face is to bring back tourism traffic to Israel – in domestic tourism and certainly in international tourism,” said Director General Amir Halevi. “As we face challenges and decisions regarding the tourism industry workers, who are so important to us, we will work diligently to get each of them and their businesses back on track as quickly as possible. As we begin to face the challenge of reopening to domestic tourism, we are continuing to think ahead on how we can adapt to bringing in international tourists as soon as possible with the greatest attention to everyone’s health and safety.”
As the country begins to ease restrictions, Israel has seen significant movements for residents and domestic travelers with the reopening of small Bed & Breakfast hotels, the reopening of Tel Aviv beaches, and the plans to reopen restaurants, bars and cafés on May 27. In addition, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority has reopened over 20 parks across the country with new health and safety restrictions.
Due to COVID-19, the ceremony was attended by a small audience, and was broadcasted live on YouTube via GPO. The following is a link to the ceremony:
http://gpo.gostreaming.tv:8080/?r=2666&k=7f4bf0a790.
For more information on future travel to Israel or to plan your trip when its safe again, visit https://israel.travel/. To stay inspired, follow IMOT on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/goisrael, Instagram https://www.instagram.com/visit_israel/, and Twitter https://twitter.com/IsraelTourism.
