TORONTO — Israel has a colourful new logo and tagline – Israel, Land of Creation – as well as a new interactive trip planner, all unveiled yesterday in Toronto by the Israel Ministry of Tourism.
“Israel is much more than a pilgrimage destination”, said Ami Alon, Consul for Tourism for the Israel Ministry of Tourism – Canada. “We’ve been waiting for this new branding for a long time. We’ve seen how Israel has evolved.”
In recent years Israel’s branding had splintered with different logos for different markets. “It was getting confusing,” said Alon.
Israel also wants to attract the next generation of travellers and is seizing on its multiculturalism as part of that strategy. “Israel’s people are so welcoming, and if you don’t have that, you can’t sell a country,” he adds.
The new logo incorporates elements of Hebrew, Arabic and English-style fonts and allows for a mix-and-match approach with different colours and styles to spell out Israel. Alon said the Ministry of Tourism has chosen three of the logos for its own use.
The interactive trip planner, meanwhile, lets users ‘choose their own adventure’ with three different hosts and various sightseeing ideas. Users click on their choices and the result is a seamless and customized mini-movie highlighting various points of interest, from the Sea of Galilee to the souks of Jerusalem. A total of 33 viewing options and 72 touring itineraries are available in all. “It’s ground-breaking and it gives us a lot of back-office information as well,” he said.
The trip planner can be viewed at goisrael.ca.
Alon says he hopes a new campaign with the new logo and branding will be ready for early next year. “We want to change people’s perceptions. People still think of Israel as a place with camels and deserts. This new look shows the variety of experiences in Israel. It’s something fresh that new markets can identify with.”
The first two months of 2014 have been record-breakers out of Canada, with visits up 16%. Last year saw some 75,000 Canadians travel to Israel, and that doesn’t include non-Canadian passport holders. Seven in 10 of the travellers are Christian, and 35% are repeat visitors.
