Turkey is giving up on Israeli tourists. Sources inform ''Globes'' that the Turkish Culture & Tourism Office has deleted Israel from its list of countries for which it has budgeted ad campaigns, and that Israeli ad agencies were not invited to participate in the office's latest tender. Until this year, Israel was part of the Turkish Culture & Tourism Office's annual budget for the Middle East. In recent years, Israeli agency Inbar Merhav Nissan Advertising and Dubai's Medium Rare Advertising LLC jointly managed the account.
A year ago, the Turkish Culture & Tourism Office e-mailed several Israeli ad agencies, inviting them to bid for its advertising budget, and said that its ad budget for Israel was $1 million. A spokesman for the office said at the time that it would maintain its ties with the Israeli market, and that it was a professional office that was not involved in politics.
In practice, however, no Israeli agency was chosen in the tender, and no advertising activity took place in Israel. It now seems that the Turkish Culture & Tourism Office has given up on any effort to attract Israeli tourists.
The Turkish Culture & Tourism Office in Israel told "Globes" today, "The office cannot include Israel in its tender because the office currently lacks a director, and without a director, it is not possible to send budgets. Until [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu apologizes, a new director will not be sent. Please wait patiently until diplomatic relations improve."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 3, 2012
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