Israel and TAL Aviation are Getting Ready for 96 Million Indian Tourists

Written by Juergen T Steinmetz

India is a giant travel, tourism and transportation market for Israel with 96 million potentials. TAL Aviation offers a needed solution.

Tal Aviation is a global leader in airline representation, headquartered in Israel.

The company has been fielding an increased number of requests for assistance from airlines in India, Asia, and the CIS countries to help them in setting up services required for these carriers to start flights to Israel.

Numbers talk, making requests from India stand out in a league of their own.

India is the most populated country in the world with 1.353 billion people. Israel has a little more than 8.7 million people, but travel and tourism between the 2 countries open an enormous potential by any standard.

When in 2022 the Israeli Consulate General of Israel in Mumbai signed a letter of intent with the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) to develop a “Jewish route” in the state, Israelis began exploring Mumbai in record numbers.

Important Jewish monuments in Mumbai and elsewhere in Maharashtra have been identified and opened to tourists from around the world.

The interest of tourists from Israel to travel to India applies to many destinations on the Indian subcontinent, such as Kerala, “God’s own country.”

More importantly, millions of Indian travelers are eyeing travel to the Holy Land, and increasing cargo trade between Israel and India literally has no limit.

With Saudi Arabia opening its airspace to allow airlines, such as El Al, to overfly the kingdom for flights originating or ending in Israel, travel time and direct or one-stop services are a logical response for opportunities to grow this air route.

The possible demand for travel between India and India is enormous.

Israeli national carrier El Al resumed flights to India after a 3-year absence, citing shorter flight times due to the ability to fly over Saudi Arabia and Oman.

The non-stop flight time between Tel Aviv to Mumbai, therefore, went down to 5.5 hours from 7.5 hours previously. El Al flights on wide-body B777 and 787 planes cut flight times from Tel Aviv to Delhi to 6.5 hours from 9.

The said development brings great relief and positive news for the Israel and Indian industry not only benefiting flights to India but also to East Asia.

Indian destinations such as Goa or Cochin are anxious to increase connectivity to Israel, and many India-based airlines are studying opportunities to serve this lucrative and fast-emerging market, said Gideon Thaler, CEO of TAL Aviation.

Gideon Thaler, CEP TAL Aviation

“This is a significant decision that will drive growth in the aviation sector by encouraging more airlines to expand their operations and enter the Israeli market,” said Sammy Yahia from the Israel Ministry of Tourism, commenting on the new air corridor.

Mr. Thaler also added that India’s airlines will be able to offer more competitive prices and reduce flying time to a 5-hour direct flight, which will surely ease the travel of air passengers.

The announcement of an open-skies policy by Riyadh may indicate a more liberal response from Saudi Arabia to open the door for the development of Riyadh Air, which aims to become the largest airline in the region.

The requests TAL Aviation has been receiving from interested airlines include:

• Connecting airlines with ground handlers
• Caterers
• Maintenance providers
• Civil aviation authorities
• Slot access
• IATA BSP joining
• Legal representation

Gideon Thaler, CEO of TAL Aviation, attributes this increased demand to the recent opening of Saudi Arabia and Oman airspace which was previously forbidden.

As the founder of TAL Aviation and with more than 45 years of experience in the aviation and tourism marketing business, he is most likely one of the most qualified voices in the world. Gideon began his career with TWA and before starting his independent GSA company, he served as the General Manager of Canadian Airlines in Israel.

TAL Aviation recently joined the World Tourism Network showing commitment to the medium- and small-sized travel and tourism businesses in the world.

TAL Aviation connects interested airlines with the Israel Ministry of Tourism and the Israel Ministry of Transport.

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