India and Israel have decided to enhance cooperation in wellness, spiritual and religious tourism sectors, Tourism Minister Subodh Kant Sahay said Monday. The decision to increase cooperation in tourism was taken at a meeting between Sahay and his Israeli counterpart Stas Misezhnikov here, according to a statement by the tourism ministry.

The Israeli minister said hoteliers in his country were interested in building hotels in India. He also requested more flights between India and Israel. The nations have decided to exchange experience in destination management and promotion, the statement said. Manpower development will be another area of cooperation between India and Israel.

An exchange programme for teachers and students, and exchange of information on teaching modules will be considered by the two countries. Tour operators and travel agents of both countries will interact with each other to promote two-way tourism between India and Israel. The possibilities for promoting package tours in either of the countries will also be explored by the travel trade of two countries. Citing statistics, the ministry said tourist traffic from Israel to India was 40,581 in 2009. It rose to 43,539 in the year 2010.

An agreement between India and Israel on cooperation in the field of tourism was signed in New Delhi in May 1993. Both the countries have revised this agreement. The India tourism Office in Frankfurt is responsible for promoting India as a destination in the Israeli market. India is known in Israel as an ancient nation with strong cultural traditions and the popular Israeli perception is that India is an attractive and alternative tourist destination, a spokesperson for the tourism ministry said.