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European low-cost airline to market Israeli metropolis abroad as top destination for young people. Company plans to double number of passengers on Tel Aviv-London route, add flights to Paris, Rome and Berlin

As Israeli airlines clashed with the government over the “open skies” agreement, European low-cost airline easyJet announced plans to conquer Israel’s skies.

The company is launching these days an aggressive marketing campaign in London, aimed at promoting tourism to Tel Aviv among young people and couples without children, under the banner “Go Big in Tel Aviv.”

The activity is part of easyJet’s spring campaign in cooperation with Israel’s Tourism Minister, which includes billboard advertising and ads in leading websites and newspapers.

In the coming days, taxicabs in London will be covered with ads calling on the airline’s passengers to take a vacation in Tel Aviv and enjoy a different experience, stressing the city’s vibrant nightlife.

More weekly flights
“When we started flying to Israel, we never imagined it would be such a success,” says Hugh Aitken, easyJet’s commercial manager in the United Kingdom.

According to Aitken, easyJet’s London-Tel Aviv route is one of the company’s most successful lines, and the airline’s goal is to double the number of passengers using this route. Currently, 66% of the passengers are British, and the company is interested in increasing the number of Israeli travelers.

“Within three years we went from three flights a week on the London route to nine flights, and in a few months we’ll move up to 11 flights, at high occupancy,” says Aitken.

easyJet, the biggest airline in Europe operating flights to Israel from London, Manchester, Basel and Geneva, is eagerly anticipating the implementation of the “open skies” agreement.

Following the agreement’s approval, the company is preparing to offer flights to Israel from Rome, Milan, Paris, Nice, Berlin and every other destination the company is based in and where market research conducted by its commercial department will justify the opening of a new line.

In order to understand the meaning of the company’s “market research,” one must visit the easyJet headquarters at the Luton Airport near London and witness the operation of the nerve center of the company which carries more than 60 million passengers a year.

In the headquarters, located inside a huge hangar which is also used for aircraft maintenance, there are no offices, no separation between employees, and they all work together in harmony in an open space. Even CEO Carolyn McCall doesn’t have an office, and she sits together with all the other workers in the open space.

“Before launching a new destination,” says Aitken, “we conduct a profitability analysis. Even after we open a new destination, we examine it several months later in order to see the growth in traffic on the one hand and the level of income on the other hand. The fact that we can’t recall ever shutting down a route proves that we are doing a good job.”

easyJet’s prices, like all low-cost companies, are based on the following standard: The earlier you book your trip – the cheaper the flight ticket. For example, passengers booking a flight to London for January 2014 will pay $280 for a roundtrip ticket.

Image via tlvhotspot

There are few places I travel to and say to myself, “Wow, I could live here.” Tel Aviv, Israel, is one of those places.

Perfectly situated on the Mediterranean coastline, this Middle Eastern urban playground quickly became my new favorite international city.

Brimming with an extremely attractive and young international population, nightlife that rivals Manhattan, a brilliant and burgeoning fashion scene, an incredibly relaxed vibe and a great variety of outstanding restaurants, Tel Aviv is my kind of city, and I think it may be yours, too.

To characterize Tel Aviv in a word, it’s laid-back; so much so, you may get the impression that there aren’t any actual rules by which to conduct your behavior.  Perhaps it’s the sense of “carpe diem” that comes with the territory, the prolific, frenetic energy or the feeling of complete freedom.  Wherever itcomes from, this hedonistic, sexy city is primed for all kinds of travelers, beach bums and party animals.  Tel Aviv is for the young and the young at heart.

A mix of grunge and luxury, Tel Aviv is the essence of a cool, 21st century city.  It’s not a “beautiful” city per se, but what it lacks in aesthetics it makes up for in just about everything else.  While there are plenty of typical or classic sites to see in Tel Aviv, the following suggestions are my top picks.

Check out the full story from Forbes!

Luxury hotel being built by international real estate firm Bercleys to include 50 suites, each with spacious balcony and private swimming pool

International real estate firm Bercleys is planning a luxury boutique hotel at the Dead Sea at an investment of some NIS 150 million (about $41 million).

Bercleys has also begun building the first Dead Sea shopping mall, at an investment of some NIS 200 million ($54.5 million).

The hotel will include 50 suites on three floors. Each suite will have a spacious balcony, a private swimming pool, a home theater system in the living room, a Jacuzzi in the bathroom, and more.

Hotel guests will also enjoy a luxurious spa, a saltwater pool, a large freshwater pool, a gourmet restaurant, an internal garden, etc.

The hotel will stretch over an area of 1.85 acres, facing the planned mall. Construction is expected to end in 2015.

The interior design will be inspired by the Dead Sea and its landscape, including the use of crystals signifying minerals.

In addition to standard hotel services, guests will have access to a DVD library, limousines and even helicopter services.

According to Bercleys’ representative in Israel, Attorney Hagai Adoram, “The decision to build a boutique hotel was a natural one as tourism in the area is developing, even at a period of recession, while hotel occupancy in other cities – like Eilat, Tiberias, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem – is declining.

Bercleys, owned by British Jews led by Jack Green, has initiated dozens of projects across Britain and five projects in Latvia. The company’s first project in Israel, which includes two commercial centers, is being built near the Eilat promenade.

Source: Ynetnews.com

Feeling at home at Carmel Market (Archive Photo: Dudu Azulay)

Six young, influential Serbians make their way to Jewish State to find ‘wonderful people, outstanding food, and soldiers with big guns and huge smiles’

“If we could, we would stay in Tel Aviv forever. The people are wonderful, the food is outstanding, the views are splendid, the soldiers walk around with big guns and huge smiles and they are much nicer than our civil servants.”

This is the impression Israel made on bloggers from Belgrade, Serbia who returned to their country enamored with the Jewish state.

The six skillful and curious bloggers who write on an array of topics were brought to Israel on a joint Foreign Ministry-Tourism Ministry venture.

They spent time in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, Masada, Akko and the Galilee. Upon their return to Serbia they wrote that they are “completely in love with Israel.”

Throughout their visit they tweeted and posted messages on their blogs on their Israel experience. Orosh Igniacivic, who runs an online tourism group tweeted: “The moment the plane flew over Tel Aviv, we felt as if we were landing in New Belgrade. We felt as if we are wandering around our own home. We met wonderful people, the food was outstanding and the views, splendid.”

Another blogger, Milan Maglov, mainly active on Facebook (with 115,000 friends) wrote on his page: “How unfortunate that only few Serbians know what Israel can offer. I feel that I am on a dreamlike expedition. Serbia, brace yourself for a boom of great stories and pictures!! Our Israelization begins now.”

Another blogger named Milan Kamponeski, who writes under the pen name “Amitz”, wrote in his blog read by 100,000 monthly readers: “I felt at home in Tel Aviv. At the Carmel Market I asked for 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of candy and the seller pushed a whole kilo (2.2 pounds) on me. I felt like I was in Belgrade.

“Israel is a land of contrasts. Soldiers who look like mere teenagers wandering around with big guns and huge smiles and they are much nicer than our civil servants.”

Israel’s Ambassador to Serbia Yossi Levy hosted the bloggers upon their return to Serbia. “It is good to hear such warm words from the mouths of such a happy, colorful and young group of Serbians, all of whom are not Jewish and who never visited Israel before. We didn’t hear one bad word, not even about the airport security checks,” said Levy

“Israel, as it is perceived through tweets and Facebook pages, is a beautiful, young, open, friendly, safe and fun country. There is no doubt that over the next few weeks, thousands of young Serbians will discover Israel from a new and especially pleasant perspective.”

According to him, “this is the most effective and best way to circumvent stereotypes and to demonstrate to young, dynamic European audiences what the real Israel is.”

Source: Ynetnews.com

Scandinavian airline to offer four weekly flights between Israel and Denmark this summer, two direct flights to Sweden.

SAS Scandinavian Airlines will add another weekly flight to its Tel Aviv-Copenhagen route.

The company will offer this summer four weekly flights between Israel and Denmark and two direct flights to Stockholm, Sweden.

The flights to Copenhagen will leave on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays, allowing for convenient connection flights to all Scandinavian countries, Europe and the United States.

The flights to Stockholm will leave on Mondays and Fridays.

Source: Ynetnews.com

The beauty of Haifa is not confined to the world-famous Bahá’í Gardens (http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/IsraelExper…), a UNESCO World Heritage site.

This Mediterranean port city, known as Israel’s unofficial northern capital, is full of historic, religious and cultural places to visit, as you’ll see in this video.

Just for starters, there’s the Beit Hagefen Arab-Jewish Culture Center (http://www.beit-hagefen.com/index.php…) that runs the annual December Holiday of Holidays (http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/IsraelExper…) event artistically celebrating Hannukah, Christmas and Ramadan. There’s the Stella Maris Carmelite Monastery and Church on Mount Carmel and there’s the Carmelit — Israel’s only subway system and the world’s shortest underground transit route.

And don’t forget the scenic beaches, seaside boardwalks and promenades.

Haifa is also one of Israel’s main R&D centers for companies such as Google, Intel, SanDisk, Qualcomm, Philips and Microsoft.

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