Editor’s Note

On 29 May, the 2022 International Mountain Tourism Day theme event was held online and themed on “Mountain Tourism Promotes Healthy Life and Cultural Exchange”. The event motivated the New Media network, connected IMTA members, destination agencies, enterprises, and experts from all over the world, and carried out “cloud communication, dialogue, and presentation” around three chapters — “Focus · Mountain”, “Health · Life”, and “Civilization · Communication”. Against the complex global landscape and threat from COVID-19, the event helps create a healthier and more positive atmosphere and market for mountain tourism, promote cultural exchange, friendly communication, and mutual integration among countries, to jointly prepare, build, and share a bright future of mountain tourism. At the event, Yuval Waks, Deputy Chief of Mission, Israel Embassy to China, delivered a speech.

Israel Boasts Profuse Tourism Resources and
Chinese Tourists are Always Welcomed

My name is Yuval Waks and I'm the Deputy Ambassador in the Embassy of Israel in Beijing. We are gathered here today to celebrate the International Mountain Tourism Day 2022， that will take place here in China. As a representative of the State of Israel, I think that the Chinese tourists have a lot to come and see here in China.

I think if we go over the landscape of Israel. At the south we have deserts. In the north we have snow, and in the middle, we have a lot of history. I think that right before COVID starts, we had 160,000 tourists that came from China to see the beautiful landscape of Israel. If you love history, if you love archeology, if you love the desert, if you like scuba diving with dolphins or swimming in the Mediterranean. You’re welcome to Israel, we’ll accept you with open arms.

As for now, we don’t have any COVID situation in Israel, so no need of mask. You can come without a COVID test arriving to Israel, no need to quarantine. The Israel will be very welcome and very happy to see Chinese tourists. So here from the Embassy of Israel in Beijing, I call you Chinese people, please come to Israel, we want to see you there.

So we said that Israel has a lot to offer, as you see in this photo that we have here in the embassy. In the south of Israel, we have desert and of course, special animals that live in the desert. So if you’re a desert lover, if you like to trek in mountains in the desert, this is definitely a good option to go to Israel.

Let’s move here to the next photo. This is one of the wonders of the world. This is the Dead Sea of Israel. I know that many, many Chinese like to go there, not only for the beautiful landscape, as you can see here, also for the cosmetics. A lot of cosmetics products are made in the Dead Sea that make your skin beautiful. We can move on to see that Israel has also a lot of agriculture to offer. So in the side lands of Israel, you can find actually beautiful fields. If you’re into agriculture, you will find a lot of that in Israel.

Last but not least, of course, you can see that Israel lays on the side of the Mediterranean Sea. We have long seashores and lots of sea activities to offer history, next to the good weather, next to the desert, next to mountains. I think Israel has it all. I think you guys should come and visit Israel. Welcome.