Good afternoon, friends!

Just a few weeks ago, together with the Ambassador of the State of Israel Eliav Belotserkovsky I visited Ivano-Frankivsk and Chernivtsi regions. A particular point of this working visit, which was extensively discussed at meetings with the leaders of both regions, was the development of tourism in Western region of Ukraine. Today, this initiative has a real continuation: in cooperation with the Embassy of the State of Israel, we organized a promotional tour for the representatives of travel agencies and mass media of Israel in Western Ukraine. From 15 till 18 May, a group of Israelis visited Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Chernivtsi regions, where they got acquainted with the popular tourist destinations, culture of the region, assessed the tourism potential of the region and were able to discuss the prospects of bilateral cooperation with regional administrations. The guests from Israel stayed in the best hotels and medical complexes, met with the leading tour operators of Western Ukraine.

Historically, Western Ukraine is a very promising region for the development of tourism between our countries: Jews have been living on these lands for centuries, so Jewish traditions and culture have been well kept here. Tens of thousands of families from this region have relatives in Israel, maintained relations with them and, of course, would be happy to have the opportunity to meet with them regularly. In addition, Chernivtsi, Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk are pearls of Ukrainian culture, architecture and art. As the Israeli guests say, they have been pleasantly surprised by the beauty of these places, the openness and kindness of residents of Western Ukraine and believe that this destination will be very interesting for travellers from Israel. Specific tourist destination can become Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains, which until now have not lost their original beauty and are the centre of resort rest in the region.

For example, it is 40 degrees’ heat in Israel at the moment, when in Western Ukraine it is +12C, trees are blooming and its cool. Despite that, new Ukrainian parliament promises to repair roads on main tourist and trade routes of the region, that will improve connection between regions.

As Honorary Consul of the State of Israel in Western Ukraine region I, from my side, do my best, to promote the image of Ukraine. I hope, this initiative will help to create fruitful relations with our Israeli partners, because advantages of such projects are obvious for both Israelis and Ukrainians.