Africa wants the Israelis - A peak number of African countries are exhibiting at the IMTM 2007 tourism fair
30-Jan-2007

A record number of African countries will be exhibiting this year at IMTM 2007, Israel’s annual international tourism fair. This year the exhibiting countries will include Angola, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Mozambique. These countries join South Africa and Morocco, which will be exhibiting this year too.

Over thirty countries are expected to participate in the fair, including Austria, El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, Hong Kong, Uzbekistan, India, and many others. Many countries attribute great importance to the fair, and have even increased their display area and marketing activities for greater prominence.

Eyal Shmueli, publisher and editor of Israel Travel News, one of the initiators of IMTM, said that “Africa is without doubt the last remaining destination for the Israeli traveler to conquer, and in recent years there has been a considerable awakening on the part of the African countries with regard to marketing themselves as a destination for tourism and vacation. The Israelis are no longer satisfied with the traditional tourist sites and are looking for new places and new attractions to enjoy, and Africa certainly fits this description. The number of countries participating in the fair this year shows a continuing trust in Israel, and especially in the Israeli tourist.  The exhibiting countries are aware of the power of the Israeli tourist, who spends considerable sums of money on traveling the world, and in an age when the tourism branch is gaining in importance, the investment in the fair is essential.”