Israel bids for winter sun & city break tourists

THE LAUNCH of direct flights to Eilat and Tel Aviv next month will help to re-position #Israel as a #wintersun and #citybreak destination for the UK market, says the country’s tourism chief.

Monarch will begin weekly services from Luton to Eilat every Thursday, and three times a week to Tel Aviv, from December 3 until April 2016.

Says Amir Halevi, director general of the Israel Ministry of Tourism: ‘The city break is becoming very popular now with the rise of low-cost airlines, but this year we have more than six times the number of weekly flights to Eilat from around Europe, so it’s becoming better known as a winter sun destination.’

Israel has seen an 8% rise in visitor numbers from the UK so far this year, and is investing in a new international airport for Eilat, due to open in 2016, as well as hotel development and plans for a casino to be built on the site of the current airport.

The Dead Sea will also see a significant increase in the number of hotels, with 5,000 rooms to be added over the next five years.

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Pegasus expands Israel flights

PEGASUS AIRLINES has added Israel’s Eilat (Ovda) Airport to its expanding network, bringing its total number of destinations to 101.

Pegasus flights to Eilat, its second destination in #Israel after #Tel Aviv, are scheduled to start on December 1, with three weekly flights between London Gatwick and Stansted Airports and Ovda via Istanbul.

Fares including taxes and charges for the Ovda Airport route from London Stansted via Istanbul start from £72, and £74.66 from London Gatwick.

The route is now open for bookings via the airline’s website … 

www.flypgs.com/en

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Monarch Airlines launches two routes to Israel

MONARCH AIRLINES has announced two new scheduled routes to #Israel from Luton Airport. The airline will start flying to Tel Aviv and Ovda (the gateway to Eilat) in December. 

The #directflights will operate three times a week to Tel Aviv (Monday, Thursday and Sunday) and once a week, on a Thursday, to Ovda. The flight time is five hours.

The airline previously operated flights to Israel as part of its charter service.

Andrew Swaffield, chief executive, Monarch Group, says: ‘These two new scheduled routes are the result of the ongoing work we are doing to develop our winter programme which showcases a number of winter sun and ski destinations.

‘Tel Aviv and Ovda are growing in popularity once more with tourists, and with the diverse offerings of both these destinations we are sure they will be a very popular choice for winter short breaks and holidays. We are also looking forward to welcoming visitors from Israel to the UK.’

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