Uzi Landau was appointed Israel minister of tourism in March. Over a three-decade government career, he has been minister of public security; minister responsible for overseeing Israeli intelligence and secret services; and, most recently, minister of energy and water resources. Destinations Editor Johanna Jainchill sat down with Landau to discuss how Israel can continue to attract record numbers of tourists.
Q: Israel set tourism records in the past couple years. What are your goals now, and how do you plan to attain them?
A: Last year was a record year, and this year should be even better. Our goal is 5 million by 2015. Last year we had 3.5 million. The target was 4 million, but we had the [Gaza operation] and an increase in turmoil in the Middle East, which brought down the figures. Israel is the most stable, safest place in the Middle East. ... People have to look a little less at CNN and BBC to get a more balanced perception of what Israel is. If there is something I have come across in my short amount of time in the ministry, it's when you meet with tourists in Israel for first time, the most striking thing is their tremendous surprise as to what they thought they'd come across and what de facto they learned and experienced. It's a calm Israel; you see tranquility, you see a country that is far from that perception of being a battleground with camels on the streets.
Q: Do people really believe that Israel is a country with camels in the street?
A: They do. But with 10 Nobel Prize winners in the last decade, with Hebrew being spoken frequently in Silicon Valley, I guess more and more people see Israel closer to what it really is. Just last week National Geographic named Tel Aviv one of the world's 10 best beach cities, with Vancouver trailing us.
Q: How have the conflicts in Syria and Egypt impacted Israeli tourism?
A: The figures show that people are coming this year even more than they did in the past. I think this in general is a vote of confidence in Israel's economy and security and its tourism. There is a group of people looking for something different. Not just religious experiences or historical but something exotic and above that mystical, something that is not a regular and routine experience. People come to Israel to look for a touch of magic. Israel provides the kind of experiences that provide people with something they can't easily get abroad.
Q: What sorts of changes do you expect to make in the way Israel promotes itself?
A: Changes will have to be with respect to where we focus, because we are trying not to cut expenses, as the economy throughout the world that we are linked to is not very favorable. As much as we have done better in the sense that our banking system was much more careful and as our economy has been on a constant increase, still we are linked to all the others. So we have had to cut budgets. Now we are trying to really target the groups that we wish to focus on and also use tools that will make it more efficient to get to the end user. We will focus on digitization to cater to the final customer.
Q: Are you targeting any new markets?
A: On top of [our classic markets] there are many niche types of markets evolving: the culinary, the cycling, the bird-watching, the wine routes. Those that come in the winter for the beaches or scuba diving in Eilat. Those interested in zoology or biology.
We are going to stretch our hand more to the non-Jewish market in the U.S., to the Christian market in Brazil. We wish to see how we can open our doors to more people from China to come in.
Follow Johanna Jainchill on Twitter @jjainchilltw.