Sri Lanka and Israel have discussed establishing direct air links to increase tourist arrivals to the island nation, Xinhua quoted Tourism Minister John Amaratunga as saying.

It said renewed efforts are being made to position Sri Lanka as an attractive destination for the outbound Middle East tourism market.

Tourist numbers from Israel grew by an impressive 33.4 percent year on year last year, when overall growth from the region was 6.5 percent.

 A Sri Lankan delegation headed by Tourism Minister John Amaratunga is currently in Tel Aviv to attend the 23rd annual International Mediterranean Tourism Market (IMTM 2017).

The Sri Lankan delegation held meetings with leading tour operators in Israel on the sidelines of the IMTM and some of the key topics discussed during the meeting were establishing direct air links between the two countries and thepossibility of arranging charter operations from next summer.

The ministry said operational level meetings would be held in the near future.

“The Middle East is a lucrative market that needs to be carefully nurtured. With the travel issues in Europe and the United States, this is our opportunity to woo the Middle East,” Xinhua quoted Amaratunga as saying.