Philippines, Israel seek to boost bilateral tourism

Israel's Ambassador Ilan Fluss said on Thursday that the Philippines and Israel are looking at boosting two-way tourism to promote people-to-people relations.

“We encourage more Filipino tourists to visit Israel [to enjoy] and also bring business. We saw an increase in the number of Israelis coming to visit the Philippines. They found the Philippines as an attractive destination,” Fluss said at the Pandesal Forum.

Fluss said that Philippine passport holders can travel all over Israel for up to 90 days visa-free. 

On Tuesday, Israel Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov met with Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat in London to discuss the potential of tourists in their respective countries, according to Israel’s embassy in the Philippines.

Razvozov and Puyat also talked about “matters regarding the direct flights and how it will be a game-changer to boost two-way tourism for both countries,” the embassy said.

"A boost [in] the tourism industry between Israel and the Philippines will promote people to people relations. We anticipate for the direct flights of Philippine Airlines (PAL) soon, so more Filipinos can tick-off the Holy Land in their bucket list and Israelis to see the beauty of the Philippines," Fluss said in the post. 

During the forum, Fluss mentioned that he met with PAL officials last week and said they are planning to start direct flights to Israel by April 2022. This measure, according to him, would give an "enormous boost" to both countries’ relations. 

The Israel Ministry of Tourism earlier announced that starting in November, fully vaccinated Filipinos may resume their travel to Israel for the first time in 18 months since it closed its borders due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tourists need to present their vaccine certificate that is not more than six months from their second dose. If it exceeds, a third dose or booster shot is required.

They are also required to undergo a PCR test 72 hours before an outbound flight and upon arrival in Israel. They have to stay in a temporary isolation facility until they receive negative results. — VBL, GMA News