Photo: Chen Galili The Passport Group closed 2025 with a festive toast on Thursday (25.12.25) at the Hilton Tel Aviv, welcoming the new year.
Notable figures in tourism and aviation, senior managers from airlines, hoteliers, content creators, and strategic partners gathered to mark three decades of Passport Group's influence on Israel's travel industry.
In line with tradition, Passport Group paused to honor significant leaders completing their influential tenures.
The evening was highlighted by the farewell to Dina Ben Tal Ganancia, the outgoing CEO of El Al, who leaves behind a legacy of strong operations and business success over her four-year tenure. Her leadership is recognized for elevating the airline to some of its best operational and business years, earning her candidacy for the best CEO in El Al's history, and marking her as the first woman to hold such a significant business position in Israel.
Passport Group also bid farewell to Hani Sobol, ending her term as CEO of Dizenhaus Group after six years during which she reinforced the company's status as a leading local and international travel agency.
Vision, Digital, and International Expansion
Adi Azoulay, Chairman and Owner of Passport Group, spoke on the company's remarkable growth, particularly in digital activities with four leading content sites in Israel, including PassportNews.co.il, registering over two million monthly visits last year.
Azoulay highlighted the group's international expansion, including the launch of IsraelTourism.com for promoting Israel as a destination globally. This strategic long-term initiative combines content, tourism, national branding, and advanced digital systems, including AI through Passport Group's unique system.
Azoulay also mentioned new avenues the group is branching into: investing in human capital, exploring innovative fields like space, cuisine, automotive, spa, and medical tourism, and deepening media activities to impact the industry profoundly. He acknowledged current challenges but emphasized the industry's resilience and innovation to continue forward.
Content Strategy and Audience Expansion
Efrat Doron, CEO of Passport Group, presented the strategy driving audience and content expansion, ensuring all readers find relevant and inspiring content on Passport's platforms.
Since September, new sections have been launched, including a spa section featuring unique treatments and experiences, and sections on Thailand and Miami. A space category gaining momentum participated in a space medicine conference at Ichilov Hospital. Vietnam and Germany sections are under development, with Germany's section in cooperation with the German Tourism Office.
Doron emphasized the strategic collaboration with the Tourism Ministry to strengthen domestic tourism, severely impacted by the war. Passport plays a key role in creating exposure, interest, and quality content fostering industry recovery while focusing on inbound tourism as a growth engine for coming years.
Michael Yitzhakov, Director of the Tourism Ministry, opened the event highlighting Israel's national strength and the tourism industry's exceptional resilience. He confirmed the ministry's support for the sector and outlined future campaigns focusing on North American tourism.
Pazith Shebi, Sales Manager of Hilton International in Israel, discussed Hilton's expansion locally and globally, noting Hilton Tel Aviv's 60th anniversary, adding prestige to the evening.
The event was hosted by Amit Cotler, a senior editor at Passport Group, who wished attendees a year of normalcy and peace: "A year of renewed travel and aviation momentum, success for hotels recovering from a challenging period, and prosperity for travel agents and attractions."
Passport Group's year-end event was not just a recap of a challenging year but a clear intention to continue leading the travel and aviation industry with innovation and digitalization, reinforcing that the first thirty years were only the beginning.
To conclude the evening, Passport Group gifted each participant a specially designed trolley marking the group's 30-year celebrations, set to be sold soon through PassportNews at a special anniversary price, designed and branded by senior advertiser Uri Avrutzki, who has guided the branding efforts in recent months.