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NEW YORK, June 15: Here is how you can say "no"
to Christ and still earn your bread-and-butter through
Him. Recently appointed Minister of Tourism, Stas
Misezhnikov, plans to shift the direction of the
marketing of Israel by concentrating on Israel's unique
tourism offering-the Holy Sites. In light of Pope
Benedict XVI's recent visit to Israel, Misezhnikov plans
to actively target the Catholic market, as well as the
Evangelical market around the world.
"What Israel needs to do is focus on what it has that
others don't have, or in other words: the Holy Land,"
said Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov. "Israel is holy
to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and the focus of
the tourism ministry today is to promote Israel as
such."
Misezhnikov has expressed that there are hundreds of
millions of Evangelical Christians around the world who
only need to be encouraged in order to visit Israel.
Currently in North and South America, the Israel
Ministry of Tourism is using the "Visit Israel – You'll
Never Be the Same" advertising campaign to reach the
Evangelical and Catholic markets, speaking to the
spiritual transformation that takes place when one
visits Israel.
“The Holy Land-and at its center, Jerusalem-is the best
tourist attraction we have; no competition," said
Misezhnikov.
Misezhnikov was born in Moscow, in the former Soviet
Union, in 1969 and immigrated to Israel in 1982. He
received a B.A. in Social and Political Sciences from
Tel Aviv University (1992) and a M.A. in Business
Administration and Marketing from Tel Aviv University
(2000). Misezhnikov served as a Parliamentary aide in
the Knesset (1997-1999), as Marketing Manager of Clalit
Health Services (1999-2006), and as a member of the
Rishon Letizon Local Council (2003-2006).
In 2006, Misezhnikov was elected to the Knesset, where
he served as a member of the Knesset Finance, Economic
Affairs, and Foreign Workers Committees, also acting as
the Chairman of the Finance Committee. In March of 2009,
he was appointed Minster of Tourism. He is married with
three children.
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