The Ministry of Tourism is making a determined effort to develop tourist traffic from Japan which, while considered to have a great potential, presently amounts to no more than 1,000 visitors a year, Nine Japanese travel agents, now touring the country as guests of the Ministry, have offered some suggestions. They noted that the main inhibiting factor was the high fare between Japan and Israel. They said that Israel should stress its unique features rather than those it shared with other countries and that it should strive to acquaint Japanese visitors with its culture rather than religion, Hanoch Givton, director general of the Ministry of Tourism, suggested at a dinner given in honor of the visitors that El Al and Japan Airlines might consider opening a direct joint service between the two countries. Mr. Givton’s remark was seen as a prod to long postponed negotiations between Israel and Japan for a civil aviation pact. Some Israelis have accused the Japanese carrier of stalling because of the Arab boycott of Israel.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
