The Ministry of Tourism is expanding its marketing activities throughout the world, and Israel has now arrived on the global sports channel: for the first time, the Ministry of Tourism will next month launch an international marketing campaign on the leading sports channel Eurosport, which has over 72 million daily viewers across Europe and another 19 million throughout the world.

The campaign, totaling some NIS 2.5m, will air in two phases, 1.5 months each; the first in March and the second in September and will include some 340 30-second commercials, about 3-4 per day. The commercials will be aired around major sporting events covered by Eurosport, which generate high ratings of diverse audiences from many countries. Moreover, there will be links to the campaign on the various websites operated by Eurosport.

The new campaign addresses a diverse target audience, of different age groups, mainly in Europe, who are interested in sport, invest in culture and have the means to travel and tour the world. The Ministry of Tourism’s target is to encourage these audiences to visit Israel, emphasizing the range of holiday, leisure and sporting activities Israel has to offer.

As part of the campaign, teams from Eurosport will soon visit Israel in order to cover two major sporting events: Tour d’Israel which will take place on March 7-10, a 4-day on-road race as part of which the cyclists will travel through more than 600km, from the Galilee to Eilat. The channel will also cover the First Jerusalem Marathon, scheduled to take place on March 25, whose route will take runners throughout the city. The coverage of these events will be broadcast a number of times, in 59 countries, exposing the potential tourists to Israel’s landscapes and sites.

The new campaign is part of the ministry’s wide range of marketing activities slated for 2011 around the world, at a total investment of NIS 265m. The 2011 campaign is a direct continuation from 2010 activities, which led to a record-breaking number of tourists visiting Israel – 3.45m. These activities include PR, participations in fairs, hosting public opinion formers in Israel, conducting seminars, campaigns and others.

Minister of Tourism, Stas Misezhnikov: “the presentation of Israel’s tourism sites to European audiences, who are seeking holiday destinations that combine sport and leisure experiences, will enable us to increase incoming tourism to Israel, while positioning it as an attractive and accessible destination.”