Destination marketing: The marketing of Israel in Australia and the south-west Pacific

Abstract

This paper outlines the marketing activities of the Australian-based Israel Tourism Office since 1994. This small national tourism office is a jointly funded arrangement between the Australian-Israel Chamber of Commerce and the Israel Ministry of Tourism. The paper briefly examines the Israel Ministry of Tourism’s overall strategy for the marketing of Holy Land 2000, and the implementation of the Israel Tourism Office’s activities in the Australasian and southwest Pacific region as it has sought to target the religious pilgrimage market. The paper also examines how Israel has sought to reposition itself as an Eastern Mediterranean destination rather than as a Middle Eastern destination, and looks at how it has established a series of cooperative marketing activities.