A special business events update from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem

Tel Aviv Convention Bureau, Jerusalem Convention & Visitors Bureau, and ORTRA, a leading PCO, have responded to M&C Asia to provide an update on their outlook and response during this challenging period.

Hagar Saad, head of International Conferences, Tel Aviv Convention Bureau, said: “We have shifted our focus towards providing support for the PCOs and we have received a lot of requests to bid for future conferences.”

This has given the industry much hope for the future, said Saad, adding that event planners in Israel are showing remarkable resilience and learning to adapt and postpone events.

Saad appealed to the global events industry to help by showing their support in the media, and to keep Israel in mind for future events, which will play a vital role to fast recovery. She added: “We are grateful for your concern and support during this challenging time.”

Tel Aviv’s events industry has seen many events planned for the latter part of 2023 being postponed to the end of the year or until further notice. These include the 9th Samson International Smart Mobility Summit 2023 which was to be held from 1-2 November 2023, and has been postponed until further notice, said its organiser, the Ministry of Transport and Road Safety.

Over in Jerusalem Convention & Visitors Bureau, its director, Anat Landa said: “We are back to work partially. Unfortunately, many conferences have been postponed or canceled. But we are optimistic that when the situation is solved, we will get back to business. We are getting many support letters and promises to be back in Jerusalem.”

Lior Gelfand CEO, ORTRA, said: “Our primary focus at the moment is to maintain continuous communication with our clients while diligently working on rescheduling the conferences. Ensuring a smooth transition to the new dates in 2024 is paramount, and we are making concerted efforts to notify all speakers and attendees about the changes in a timely manner.”

Gelfand was deeply moved and grateful for the warm support and understanding extended to ORTRA by the majority of its clients, speakers, and conference registrants. He added: “Their patience, flexibility, and willingness to accommodate the necessary changes have been heartening during these challenging times.”

Looking forward

Gelfand said that Israel’s offerings as a destination with its unique history, presence of three monotheist religions and history of overcoming challenges, coupled with its vibrant academia, science, and technology expertise will help navigate it through the current situation and emerge stronger.

He added: “Tel Aviv and Israel remain exceptional destinations for international conferences, unaffected in essence, by the current circumstances. We are optimistic that in the near term, attendees from around the globe will once again travel to Israel to partake in the rich experiences it offers, revitalising the events industry here.”