Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that the number of Chinese tourists visiting Israel rose by 30% in 2013. The Israeli Tourism Ministry forecasts that the number of Chinese visitors will surge 60% this year, to 40,000, as Israel tries to take a bigger bite into the more than US$100 billion that Chinese tourists spend overseas annually.
Israel's Tourism Ministry's director general Amir Halevy said that Israel's goal was to attract 40,000 Chinese tourists in 2017 and 100,000 in 2020.
To that end, Israel was working with Chinese airlines to launch direct flights to Ben Gurion Airport, and a reform in entry visas for Chinese visitors to Israel was introduced. Israel is particularly targeting middle- and upper-class tourists as well as Chinese Christians.
Chinese tourists spent an average of US$286 a day in Israel (not including souvenirs), more than tourists from other countries. Overall, Chinese tourists spent $102 billion on overseas travel.
