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World Jewish News
Belarus and Israel to Sign Agreement on Tourism
18.05.2009
An intergovernmental agreement between Israel and Belarus in the field of tourism has been prepared.
This was reported by the Ambassador of Israel to Belarus Edward Shapira, the BelaPAN writes.
According to him, tourism is a key area of the Israeli economy, since every year it brings from 4 to 5 billion U.S. dollars to the state treasury.
The diplomat noted that in the year 2008 there had been a record number of visitors, as 3 million tourists had come to the country, which comprises 40% of the population of Israel.
According to him, last year the number of Belarusian citizens who visited Israel on tourist visas, increased by 70% compared to 2007, and reached 18 thousand people.
The Ambassador expressed the hope that the simplification of visa regime and the measures taken in this regard by the Israeli embassy, the number of Belarusian tourists will noticeably increase.
In his opinion, the increase in the number of weekly flights by the Belarusian company "Belavia" from Minsk to Tel Aviv from two in the autumn-winter period to six in the summer months shows a significant interest of the Belarusian citizens in the tourist sites of the unique country, which is Israel, with its relatively low prices, excellent service, Mediterranean climate, sandy marine beaches, numerous national parks and cultural, historic, as well as religious sites.
The diplomat stressed that the state capital, ancient Jerusalem, the center of the world's monotheistic religions, as well as Tel Aviv, which for a hundred years of history has become a center of economic, cultural and intellectual life of the country, contain unlimited possibilities for tourists.
The Ambassador expressed hope that the agreement will be signed this year, because there are no significant controversies on the contents of the document, and the parties just have to agree on the date of its signing.
"The agreement will become a political signal that the two Governments are interested in further development of mutually beneficial cooperation," stressed E. Shapira.
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