8 July 2008

MINISTRY OF TOURISM CONNECTS WARSAW TO EILAT
Tourism Ministry initiative: Oasis Tours, one of the largest travel agencies
in Poland, will market vacation packages from Warsaw to Eilat.
The first flight leaves in December 2008.

The increase in demand for vacations in Israel continues:
Nearly 55,000 tourists visited Israel from Poland during Jan-May 2008,
a 100% increase over the corresponding period last year.

Ministry of Tourism
www.tourism.gov.il

The Tourism Ministry continues its marketing activities aimed at the Polish
market and has notched up another important achievement: From the end of
December 2008, weekly flights will operate on the Warsaw-Eilat route for a
one year period. Oasis Tours, one of the largest travel agencies in Poland,
advised the Tourism Ministry that, following a visit to Israel, the company
had decided to market vacation packages to Eilat.

The packages, which include flights with Israir departing Warsaw on
Saturdays, will offer Polish tourists 5 day packages in Eilat and 2 days in
Jerusalem and Tel Aviv or vice versa, or 3 days in Eilat and 4 days in
Jerusalem and the rest of the country. The return flight to Warsaw departs
from Ben Gurion airport. Oasis Tours has recently launched an extensive
marketing campaign, in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism.

Director-General of the Tourism Ministry Shaul Tzemach: "The decision of
Oasis Tours, which operates primarily in Egypt and Tunisia, to fly to Israel
offers us the opportunity to compete with those destinations which attract
Polish tourists, pilgrims and vacationers. It also aligns with the Tourism
Ministry's policy of increasing the volume of flight seats from destinations
with a potential demand for visiting Israel."

The Tourism Ministry's activities recently bore fruit earlier this year with
cooperation between Polish travel wholesalers and Sun D'Or, with charter
flights from Sde Dov to Lodz and Warsaw (from March 2008) and Wroclaw (from
September). Until March 2008, only scheduled flights were in operation
between Israel and Poland (Warsaw and Krakow). As a result of this change, a
total of 60 charter flights will operate between Poland and Israel in 2008
(about 9000 seats), in addition to the 9 weekly scheduled flights on this
route.

The growth in tourism from Poland to Israel continues: About 12,700 Polish
tourists entered Israel in May 2008, a 96% increase on May 2007. In the
period January - May 2008, about 55,500 tourists arrived from Poland - an
increase of 100% over the same period last year. Poland is the fifth largest
European country of origin for incoming tourists. The Tourism Ministry is
working towards a further increase of at least 30% in the numbers of Polish
tourists entering Israel in 2008.