The New Tourist Destination For Indians? Take A Guess.

JERUSALEM: Israel is looking east to China and India to help drive tourism, as visits to the country have yet to fully recover from the 2014 Gaza war, Tourism Ministry Director-General Amir Halevi said.

Tourism in 2015 fell 3 percent to 3.1 million, following a war with Palestinian militants in Gaza in 2014. A weak Russian economy also weighed.

In the six-week Gaza conflict, Israeli air strikes killed more than 2,100 Palestinians, mostly civilians, while Palestinian militants killed six Israeli civilians and 67 soldiers.

The fighting briefly shut down Israel's main airport near Tel Aviv as a missile from Gaza fell nearby, while scenes of rockets fired into Israel and forcing Israelis into shelters led to many tourists cancelling plans.

"For almost 70 years, we have been trying to manage tourism with things happening from time to time," Mr Halevi said, pointing to a global trend of violence.

Tourism is a key growth engine for Israel, accounting for 2.5 percent of gross domestic product.

The United States is Israel's largest tourist market at 20 percent, followed by Russia, France, Germany and Britain.

In 2016, Israel will also make a push into India, whose tourism to Israel rose 13 percent last year to nearly 40,000. The ministry targets 80,000-100,000 in 2018.

Indian carriers have expressed the desire to fly to Israel.  High cost of flights and hotels also discourage tourism but Halevi said the ministry was seeking international chains to build low-cost hotels.

He believes a convention centre and casino is needed in the Red Sea resort city of Eilat to bring in tourists, although a plan for a casino has met with political resistance.