The flag of India. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – Israel’s Ministry of Tourism launched its first ever television advertising campaign in India, specifically targeting potential tourists to Israel.

“Breaking into the large Asian market, in particular China and India, is one of the main objectives set by the Tourism Ministry,” Tourism Minister Yariv Levin said in a prepared statement. “The experiential campaign… has been adapted to the particular characteristics and taste of the Indian market.”

Israel will spend $1.62 million, three times its normal budget, over a two-month period promoting Israeli tourism using the slogan, “On most vacations, you take a trip. But in Israel, you take a journey.”

Last year, about 40,000 Indian tourists visited Israel, a 13 percent jump from 2014. That growth is expected to continue and by 2018, Israeli officials see the number reaching 100,000.

The campaign’s focus is on tourists from India’s middle-class sector, families looking to vacation far from home and those interested in visiting the Holy Land for Indian Christian pilgrimage trips.