The 26^th edition of the IMTM international tourism exhibition was staged in Tel Aviv on 11-12 February. Arranged by POT and visited by many Israeli travel bloggers, the Polish stand showcased cities, regions and businesses.

International Mediterranean Tourism Market is Israel’s largest travel trade show, a meeting place of local and international travel industry, a platform for presenting offers, promotions and the latest tourist products. Due to the broad interest shown by exhibitors, this year the event moved to two spacious exhibition halls.

The Polish national stand took up 80 m2 of exhibition space and presented the offer of the region of Małopolska with Kraków and Wierzynek restaurant, Pomorze (Pomerania) with Gdańsk, Dolny Śląsk (Lower Silesia) with Wrocław, Warmia i Mazury (Warmia and Masuria), Warsaw, Łódź, the region of Lubelskie, PLL LOT airlines, POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, Park of Poland, as well as PolandPops Meetings & Incentives.

The stand hosted a wide range of meetings with industry professionals and media representatives. Israel has more than 100 travel bloggers, who constituted a large group of visitors to the Polish stand. On average, the national stand was had 300 guests a day. Most frequent inquiries related to stays in major cities and family tourism.

This year the exhibition recorded more than 26,000 guests, including 17,050 travel industry delegates, more than 1,900 exhibitors from 56 countries showcasing their offer, and 992 arranged B2B meetings.

Polish Tourism Organisation (Polska Organizacja Turystyczna - POT) has been involved in regular promotional operations in the Israeli market ever since 2014. Because of the history of the Jewish people, Poland is obviously well-known in Israel but predominantly associated with the tragic events of World War II. As a result, the activities conducted by Polish Tourism Organisation in the discussed market are aimed at broadening or even outright altering the image of Poland, so that it is also perceived as a friendly and advanced country recommended for active family holidays and city breaks. Continuous and consistent operations in recent years started to produce the expected results, as demonstrated by growing tourist traffic numbers: between 2015 and 2018 the number of Israeli tourists travelling to Poland grew from 146,000 to 296,000.

According to image market research POT conducted in the Israeli market in 2018, almost half of Israel’s residents of Jewish ethnicity perceive Poland as an attractive travel destination that can positively surprise you once you get to know it better. The respondents particularly appreciated the extensive network of flights to Poland, high-standard accommodation and tourist must-sees. They also spoke fondly of affordable prices. In the opinion of Israel residents, Poland is highly recommended both for active leisure (bicycles, kayaks) and its more peaceful variety (sightseeing, walking, shopping). Polish culture, including cuisine, also proves inspiring for Israeli guests.

The next edition of IMTM will be held on 9-10 February 2021.