Top spot
“Dubai would be a very big competition to other favorite destinations for Israelis such as Cyprus, Greece and Turkey,” said Uri Sirkis, CEO of Israir. “We need to understand that right now it s the peak season in Dubai and during summer - when the temperature goes up the prices go down - it will be still attractive for Israelis.”
The Israir head said he expects the airline to continue to operate at least three daily flights between Tel Aviv and Dubai. However, during the weekend, that number “can go up to four and even more.”
“I think Dubai is a gamechanger and in our estimation, 2 million Israelis will visit (the emirate) in 2021.”
What can UAE tourists expect?
Hacohen said Israel is targeting 100,000 tourists a year, including from the UAE, who will find plenty to see and do. Israel has modern cities but also ancient history “like nowhere else, that is sacred for the three religions” of Islam, Judaism and Christianity. The country also has both snow-capped mountains and a desert.
Mutually benefiting
“Once the sky opens, we re also working on the aircraft transportation lines to create all kinds of commercial collaboration, so that there will be an added-value for both countries, the Minister added. We have a lot of expectations on this, and I hope these [mutual packages] will become a reality.
Collaborations
“We believe the children are above and beyond any politics, any war,” said Efrat Harlev, CEO, Schneider Children s Medical Center of Israel. “This is really a situation to use these peaceful times in order to do much collaboration between our two people in all the different fields of pediatrics”
Moopen echoed Harlev’s sentiment. “There is a significant opportunity in all the areas… especially in areas like pediatrics. There are some UAE hospitals specialized in child care, but they are not at the same level as their Israeli counterparts.
Digitization the key
“There is again significant opportunity in areas like digital health - starting from a simple telemedicine consultation to tele ICU. With over 1,500 healthcare-related startups in Israel, “there will definitely be a lot of things which can be tested here (in UAE) as well as tried and adopted here.”
Dubai: Finding medical breakthroughs and tourism opportunities will produce the fastest deals between the UAE and Israel, according to speakers at the virtual UAE-Israel Business Leaders Summit on Wednesday.
“We re going to focus on healthcare - and on tourism - and maybe these sectors are going to produce the fastest deal and faster agreements than any other sectors, said Eytan Avriel, Magazine Editor-in-Chief, TheMarker. Why? Because of the coronavirus crisis of course, which forces us to find quick health solutions, but also provides opportunity for tourism as many countries are still closed or require a quarantine to enter.”
The three-day Summit focused on healthcare and tourism after earlier hearing from speakers from two countries discuss investment, technology, start-ups and other sectors. It is co-hosted by Gulf News and TheMarker. (Register for the Summit on https://www.uae-israel-summit.com/home)
The summit, co-hosted by Gulf News and TheMarker, heard how both countries are seeking mutual investment opportunities following the normalisation of bilateral ties after the Abraham Accord in August. The UAE has a multibillion-dollar accelerator programme for start-ups, with Hub 71 as its flagship project. Over two-thirds of start-ups in the Middle East and North Africa are based in the UAE. Israel meanwhile has had a record breaking year for its tech companies, seeing investments of $10 billion, said Uri Gabai, co–general manager and vice president of strategy at Start-Up Nation Central, Israel.
Netalie Nadivi, Partner, Triventures Venture Capital Fund, Israel, said the global health crisis of 2020 has shown tech-led solutions have become “must-have” instead of just “nice to have”. She added that remote care and tele health are ripe for funding now. “We are interested in the verticalisation of healthcare, seeing fintech solutions for healthcare, changing how and where