The United States Tour Operators Association, the largest tourism wholesalers association in America, will hold its 2013 annual conference in Israel as guests of the Tourism Ministry. The decision was made in February during a meeting in the US between Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov and USTOA management. The organization’s last annual conference in Israel occurred in 1995.
Misezhnikov called the decision “a vote of confidence in the Israeli tourism industry”.
According to the Government Press Office, 600,000 US tourists visited Israel in 2011, making America the largest source country for incoming Israeli tourism. Revenue from incoming tourism from the States reached about NIS 4 million in 2011.