Jerusalem - Tel Aviv: two cities - two worlds

At the beginning of June, the International Forum “Jerusalem - Tel Aviv: two cities - two worlds” was held in Moscow and St. Petersburg - the first event of this scale. Over the course of two days, the heads of hotel associations and heads of departments of the city municipalities of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv presented the tourism opportunities of the two main cities of the State of Israel.

The forum was held in the format of informal communication in the framework of a series of seminars during which experts and leaders of Russian travel companies and journalists could get a lot of useful information “first-hand”.

“I consider holding this kind of open presentations a good tradition that has developed among the Russian department of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism. I would like to note that the event at which we have gathered today is the largest, which is why we called it the First International Forum. The tourist flow from Russia to Israel is growing every year - this is confirmed by both the statistics of the Ministry of Tourism and the calculations carried out by our colleagues, Israeli hoteliers. They note an increase in the number of guests from Russia by about 10%. In 2011, their total number exceeded 550 thousand people; this year we hope to cross the line of 600 thousand,” said Neta Briskin-Peleg, Director of the Department of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism in the Russian Federation and the CIS, Tourism Advisor at the Israeli Embassy in Moscow, in her welcoming speech to the forum participants.

“Everyone who has gathered here is true friends of Russia and Israel, they unite our peoples. Next year, when we celebrate the 65th anniversary of the founding of our state, is in many ways a landmark year for us. Significant, including for tourism. We are waiting for guests from Russia, come,” said Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Israel to the Russian Federation Dorit Golender.

Other guests of honor at the event included Arie Zommer, Director of the Jerusalem Hotel Association, Eli Ziv, Director of the Tel Aviv Hotel Association, Eli Nahmias, Director of the Jerusalem Development Company, Eddy Shapira, Consul General of the State of Israel in St. Petersburg, and Michael, the Israeli Cultural Center in St. Petersburg. Pass.

Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv is the business and entertainment center of the country. The city was founded in 1909 year, and the age of ancient Jaffa, which was merged with Tel Aviv into a single urban conglomerate - more than 4000 years, is the oldest port in the world.

420 thousand people live in Tel Aviv, the population of the city along with the suburbs - 2,5 million. 100 thousands of them are engaged in the entertainment industry. The city employs about 70 hotels with a foundation in 8000 rooms.

Tel Aviv is one of the main cultural centers of the country. Madonna's world tour began here in May, and the city hosts many festivals. On June 28, 2012, the “White Night” museum festival will take place, and on September 6–8 – the large festival “I Love Art. I create art." 2012 has been declared the Year of Art in Tel Aviv.

Jerusalem

Jerusalem is the “eternal city”, it is probably the most famous and legendary city on earth. There is no person who would not hear this name. And in recent years, a growing number of those who have visited it and saw it with their own eyes.

The first archaeological evidence of a settlement on the eastern slope of the Temple Mount dates back to 5 - 4 millennium BC. Today, the population of Jerusalem is over 700 thousand people. There are about 80 hotels in the city (more than 8000 rooms).

Commenting on the conventional wisdom that “Jerusalem is praying, Haifa is working, and Tel Aviv is having fun,” Eli Nahmias, Director of the Jerusalem Development Company, noted that Jerusalem today “also joins the party,” opening boundless horizons of opportunities not only to pilgrims or history buffs , but also to those who prefer modern urban tourism.