JERUSALEM, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Ministry of Tourism announced on Monday that it has placed greeting signs in main tourist sites in honor of the coming lunar Chinese New Year.

In accordance with the Chinese zodiac cycle, the Year of the Rat will start on Jan. 25.

In the coastal city of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, the ministry has placed two photo frames with greetings at Jaffa's Solomon Bay promenade and the Old Train Station site, as well as decorated chairs at the popular Frishman Beach.

Other New Year's greetings were placed at the ministry's information office in Jerusalem, near the Old City's Jaffa Gate, and at the Dead Sea's hotels area.

Also, a Chinese-language greeting video will be screened at Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport.

The ministry said that Israel's Government Tourist Office in Beijing shared the greetings by using WeChat and Weibo platforms and encouraged tourists to pose for photographs in front of the greetings, upload photos, tag in the Chinese platforms and participate in prize-winning sweepstakes.

In 2019, some 156,100 Chinese tourists visited Israel, an increase of 36.7 percent compared to 2018.

"Due to the potential of tourism from China, we have expanded the number of flights from several cities in China, launched campaigns on the Chinese social networks, hired a new marketing company and started working in five more cities in China in addition to Beijing," said Amir Halevi, director general of Israel's Tourism Ministry.

"We wish our Chinese friends a good Year of the Rat and look forward to a continued increase in the number of tourists from China," Halevi added.