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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider Trade & Industry devider Philippines, Israel push for direct flights to boost tourism, trade

Philippines, Israel push for direct flights to boost tourism, trade

Published Jul 30, 2025 02:29 pm
Israel flag (Unsplash)
Israel flag (Unsplash)
The Philippines and Israel are pushing for direct flights between Manila and Tel Aviv as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen both countries’ trade and tourism relationship.
Without a direct flight, Israel Minister of Economy and Industry Nir Barkat said it normally takes over 16 hours of travel to reach Manila.
While the relationship between the two countries remains firm, the lengthy travel time could put off prospective tourists and investors.
“We strongly believe that if we have a direct flight between the Philippines and Israel, it'll make a big difference,” said Barkat.
Barkat, a former mayor of Jerusalem, said the direct flight would provide a more seamless access for Filipino Catholics to visit the Holy Land.
Meanwhile, he noted that Israelis particularly enjoy visiting beach destinations, which is why the Philippines is a popular choice.
“The more accessible Israel will be to the Philippines and vice versa, you'll see more and more traffic, more and more business,” he said.
Based on data from the Department of Tourism (DOT), over 14,000 tourists from Israel visited the Philippines in 2024, making it the 30th largest source of foreign arrivals.
Last year, Israel Minister of Tourism Haim Katz engaged with key officials of flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) to discuss the potential of launching nonstop flights between Manila and Tel Aviv.
PAL earlier planned to launch flights to Tel Aviv's Ben-Gurion International Airport, but this has since been stalled due to the ongoing conflict in the region.
Barkat said the Israeli government will soon work out a plan to initiate the direct flights “in a way that is beneficial for both countries.”
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Cristina Roque said he will inform secretaries of the DOT and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) about this plan.
“We're hoping that we can also get a direct flight to Israel, especially since we are a very strong Catholic country,” said Roque.
“I'm sure many of our citizens or many of our people would want to go to Israel to see the Holy Land,” she added.
Barkat said the direct flights will further strengthen the people-to-people and government-to-government relationship between Israel and the Philippines, opening up more trade opportunities in the process.
Both countries are embarking on a plan to establish a free trade agreement (FTA) to expand their trade relationship, currently valued at over $400 million.
In 2024, Israel ranked as the Philippines' 30th most valuable trading partner out of 223 countries.

Related Tags

Israel Department of Transportation (DOTr)
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