For Israel tourism official, travel is a path to connection and understanding

For Chad Martin, a 1999 BBYO trip to Israel felt like “going home.”

Martin is the northeast union director of Israel’s Ministry of Tourism, but in 1999 he was a 16-year-old from Youngstown, Ohio, whose grandfather had recently passed away.

Youngstown wasn’t the easiest place for a Jewish kid to be raised, Martin recalled. In fact, he said, it was shortly before his trip to Israel that someone flashed a heil Hitler salute at him from the back of a bus. Martin said a fight ensued.

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“There’s a lot of pressure on Jewish kids that grow up as ultra-minorities,” he said. “Not because of hate but because they’re different from everyone else. I wasn’t going to put up with it.”

Even before the BBYO trip to Israel, Martin said he felt a desire to leave behind the small town where he was raised. After returning from Israel, he finished high school, attended college at The Ohio State University and began to become politically aware. Events like the Camp David Accords, the Second Intifada and 9/11 shaped his worldview, and he became active on campus.

“My passion at school took a political bent,” he said. “I majored in political science and Hebrew, studied abroad in Israel and knew I didn’t want to stay in Ohio.”

A move to New York was accompanied by Martin changing jobs six times during his first year in the city.

It was after an interview he was able to conduct in Hebrew that Martin landed his first job working in Israeli tourism. He spent time in different facets of the industry for several years before meeting Anat Ben Yosef, Israel’s consul and director of the western region of the United States, who invited Martin to apply for his current position with the Israel Ministry of Tourism.

The rest, as they say, is history.

“This is a shaliach position that they are no longer using shaliach for,” Martin said. “They wanted to hire me to run the New York office with a team. I got really lucky.”

For Martin, who didn’t serve in the Israel Defense Forces and has considered making aliyah, the position provides an opportunity to give back to Israel.

“This way my way of joining the fray — doing what I’ve done for 10 years,” he said.

And while Martin is passionate about both his Jewish heritage and Israel, he’s quick to note a third topic that he’s also ardent about: Israel travel.

There are opportunities in that third category that Martin thinks are being missed in America’s hyper-politicized view of Israel.

An example, he said, are trips he put together for Christian travelers while still working at ARZA World and Holy Land Voyager Brands, as one of only two account managers in North America.

He arranged what’s known in the industry as “fam,” or familiarization, trips for different groups of pastors, giving them a larger view of Israel than they would get from a typical religious mission.

Martin has challenged the perception of Israel as merely a bucket-list destination, and encourages others to view it as a place of opportunity and innovation — particularly given its “Start-Up Nation” nickname and the number of technology companies founded there.

His work on building relationships has paid off.

Shortly after taking his role with the ministry, Martin planned a trip with the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York CEO Emeritus Michael Miller and others, bringing 11 pastors to Israel. Since then, those pastors have brought more than 1,000 people to Israel.

Conferences, he said, are another important avenue for Israeli tourism. Companies like Ernst and Young and Huntington Bank have already had conferences there and Martin thinks Israel, with its rich start-up history, can attract a larger portion of the trillion-dollar industry segment.

It’s these types of trips, he pointed, out, that have more impact than simply stuffing the coffers of the Israeli travel industry.

As an example, he uses what he calls the “neighbor scenario,” where a person who’s been to Israel might have a neighbor who has something negative to say about the Jewish state. Rather than simply arguing, one can talk about what they saw in the country, and share photos of the land and what they experienced there.

“It’s a side door. You’re not beating down the front door and saying, ‘You’re wrong and you’re a bad person for believing that.’ You’re saying, ‘I’ve been there.’ You’re sowing a little bit of doubt and lead them down that path to truth, and truth is on our side,” he said.

Martin, and the Ministry of Tourism, are working hard to bring tourists to Israel. He said that since the pandemic, more than 2 million people who otherwise might have gone to Israel haven’t.

“So, about two years’ worth of our tourists,” he said.

Oct. 7 and Israel’s defensive wars haven’t helped, but Martin is quick to point out that violent crime is very low in Israel and that there are an equal number of security challenges in other popular tourist destinations throughout the world — Mexico and Europe included.

The issue, he said, is that Americans are afraid. By talking about the many opportunities and experiences Israel offers, people can move across what he calls the “fear bridge” and become excited about visiting the country.

Martin said the missing piece in U.S. tourism right now is the return of flights from U.S. air carriers, although more are coming in the next week or so — including flights from Delta and United — but only about half the number needed.

Because of the slowdown, he said, Israeli hotels, tour guides and operators have had a tough time the last few years.

“They had COVID and then this,” he noted.

To help, the Ministry of Tourism has launched the “I AM ISRAEL,” campaign aimed at reconnecting U.S. citizens with the Jewish state, telling Israel’s story through the people who live there. Videos are available to view on YouTube.

As more flights become available, Martin has advice for anyone thinking of coming to Israel.

“Make a plan now,” he said. PJC

David Rullo can be reached at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.