A.G. Gancarski
TEL AVIV — The final event of Monday evening for Florida’s trade delegation to Israel was one that stakeholders hope drive tourism.
Visit Florida and the Israeli Ministry of Tourism agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding.
Expect El Al, the Israeli national airline, to route non-stop flights to and from Orlando.
The hope, said policy makers, was to drive more bilateral tourism, accelerating current trends.
Visit Florida head Dana Young framed the initiative as another example of Gov. Ron DeSantis being pro-Israel.
“It is clear that he will make Florida the most pro-Israel state in the union and he is putting his money where his mouth is,” Young said.
DeSantis sounded not unlike Gov. Rick Scott as he rattled off tourism stats, noting that Florida has increased from 4.2 to 25 percent its international market share over the last seven years.
DeSantis credited direct flights from El Al to Miami with part of that growth, and added that July sees the Orlando service.
“If people know in Israel that you can get a direct flight and go to Disney World and Universal Studios,” DeSantis said, “it will be very successful.”
“It sure beats connecting,” DeSantis added. “And you’ve got a lot of people in Central Florida who would love to visit Florida.”
“I love when people from Israel visit Florida,” DeSantis quipped. “They spend a lot of money.”
Amir Halevi, Israel’s Director-General of tourism, noted that Israel has set tourism records for twelve straight years, and that the expanded air service is a “win-win.”
“Florida is the most important market,” Halevi said.
