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JERUSALEM, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Israel has approved 10-year multiple entry visas for Chinese visitors in addition to cancelling group fees to attract more tourists from China, a government notice said Thursday.
The move comes after the signing on March 29 of a bilateral agreement to extend the visa validity of both Chinese and Israeli visitors from three months to 10 years, the notice added.
The new visa allows for multiple visits, permitting up to 90 days per visit.
Israel will also cancel fees for Chinese citizens visiting the country as members of organized tour groups.
An Israeli survey of tour operators in China revealed that this fee, 35 shekels (about nine U.S. dollars) per person, in addition to handling fees travel agents are sometimes required to pay to private operators representing them in Israel, "was a significant bureaucratic and financial obstacle in organizing tourist groups from China," the Tourism Ministry said in a statement.
The new procedures are intended to "remove major obstacles affecting the growth of incoming tourism from China," said the Tourism Ministry.
The ministry hopes the move will help it reach its annual target of 100,000 Chinese visitors by 2018.
Interior Minister Aryeh Deri said that Israel views China as a significant target country for growing tourism and granting concessions could also help strengthen bilateral relations in other areas.
"Removing bureaucratic obstacles facing Chinese tourists represents a green light to increasing the numbers of tourists," he said.
"Recently, restrictions were eased on Chinese diplomatic passport holders and now the tourist is our focus," he added.
The Tourism Ministry's recent Annual Inbound Tourism Survey revealed that Chinese tourists spend an average of 1,947 dollars during their visits to Israel, well beyond the general average expenditure of 1,600 dollars per tourist.
The number of Chinese tourists visiting Israel has been rising steadily over past few years.
According to the Israeli Tourism Ministry, the number of Chinese tourists in 2015, at more than 47,000, was 43 percent more than that of 2014, which saw an 86 percent jump over that of 2013.
The trend continued in the first half of 2016, with a 45 percent visitor increase compared with 2015, and 82 percent compared with 2014.
