Philippine Ambassador to Israel Aileen Mendiola says she is pushing to establish direct flights from Manila to Tel Aviv to boost tourism between the two nations.
The embassy says the issue is at “the top of her 2026 agenda,” and that Mendiola wants to raise the number of Israeli visitors from around 25,000 in 2026 to 35,000 this year.
“We are actively engaging partner airlines, as well as tourism and transport authorities on both sides, with the goal of achieving concrete outcomes by the third quarter of 2026,” she says.
Mendiola says that even without direct flights, around 25,000 Israelis visited the Philippines in 2025 and around 50,000 Filipinos traveled to Israel throughout the year. Israel employs a large number of Filipino workers as caregivers and domestic helpers.
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