Eyal Karin. (Source: Israel Ministry of Tourism)
Travel Pulse met with Eyal Karlin, Israeli Tourism Ministry’s Commissioner for North America, to discuss how the country is faring from a tourism perspective following the Hamas attacks on October 7. Here are Karlin’s comments:
TravelPulse: Do you have any advice for how U.S. travel advisors should advise their clients about traveling to Israel?
Eyal Kalin: I would tell them that it is not too early to encourage your clients to go to Israel. They should know that as long as they are away from the Gaza Strip and the northern border, there is no problem with traveling freely.
Life goes on, and so does travel. There are resources available for advisors and travelers to find out more. You can contact the Israeli Ministry of Tourism through our offices across the U.S., or reach out to Israeli travel partners (hoteliers, destination management companies, etc.). There is a wealth of information available, and everyone is happy to share it. Airlines are also a great resource and have a lot of information on logistics.
Travelers can rest assured that best practices are in place in the event a situation of concern arises, and ensuring all visitors are well taken care of and comfortable is the Israeli government’s number one priority.
Again, advisor clients should definitely go, especially if they are actively seeking to go. Advisors can confidently recommend Israel to travelers, and it’s definitely off the beaten path and off the main tourist route.
Jerusalem. (Source: Claudette Covey)
TP: What type of tourists are visiting Israel today?
EC: In the United States, people have already started traveling to Israel again since December. It started as a solidarity group in December and January.
Then in February, March and April travel spread out – more people were visiting friends and family, more people were joining tours, and in February Christian travel resumed, taking the Israeli Christian route to the Dead Sea and Jerusalem.
TP: What were Israel’s tourist numbers in recent years before the October 7 attacks?
EC: In 2019, pre-COVID, the number of tourists from the U.S. reached 970,000, almost 1 million. In 2022, just after COVID, when the country opened up to tourism at the end of March, the number of tourists from the U.S. reached 840,000 to 850,000, nearly 80% of the 2019 figure, despite COVID restrictions and testing requirements.
For each month from January to September 2023, the number of arrivals from the United States to Israel was at least 10% higher than the same months in 2019. Let us also recall that in 2019, the number of tourists from the United States to Israel also broke all previous arrival records. If we look at the 12 months from September 2022 to September 2023, that is, up to October 7, the number of tourists from the United States was 1.07 million. That means it was indeed a record year and the best 12 months for travel. This trend is predicted to continue, and since October, November and December are usually the high travel months, we expected 2023 to end with figures 10-15% higher than the previous record.
The Baha’i Gardens in Haifa. (Source: Claudette Covey)
TP: What are tourism numbers looking like for this summer and the rest of 2024?
EC: It’s been gradually increasing. In February and March, we were at about 30% of the same period in 2019 and 2023, and now in May, we’re at 40% of the travel volume in 2023 and 2019. We expect this trend to continue through the summer, which is not bad at all.
In addition to individuals traveling for family reasons, solidarity and Christian tour groups, we are also seeing an increase in educational tour groups of teenagers and young adults visiting Israel for periods ranging from two weeks to a month, meaning that many sectors of travel are already seeing a revival.
We are confident that we will finish 2024 at 50 percent of the previous year’s level.
TP: What are your expectations for the 2025 arrival?
EC: If there is a formal ceasefire or a dramatic agreement, I think we will return to pre-war numbers. Not immediately, but we will see trends in 2022 and 2023 (before October 7th) and then finish in 2025.
TP: Tell us about the implementation of the ETA-IL system and how this program will impact U.S. travelers?
EC: We have just started the pilot and it will be effective for all travellers from August. We are standardising the entry procedures for e-visa countries and visa-exempt countries to Israel.
This means that travelers from the US will have to spend five minutes before traveling to register online in advance, but when they enter Israel they will go through a biometric system just like Israeli nationals, simplifying the process – it’s similar to the US’s Global Entry.
Once issued, your visa is valid for two years, which means you won’t have to wait in long lines at customs or immigration, and it only takes about five minutes from the plane to baggage claim. Not bad!
TP: What’s going on on the airline side?
EC: Air capacity is good. Delta and United are back.
United and Delta have returned to New York service. United has increased its frequency from Newark to twice a day after a week and a half of daily service. Delta has New York-JFK service, and both airlines are seeing strong demand.
Travel will become even more comfortable for U.S. travelers when United and Delta resume flights to other U.S. destinations, such as when Delta resumes its Atlanta service and United resumes service to San Francisco, Chicago and Washington, D.C. Currently, there are about 50 flights per week from the New York City area to Tel Aviv.
El Al has never stopped service and has even started flights from Fort Lauderdale. El Al serves both coasts of the US and the Atlantic coast from multiple locations, including Los Angeles, where they operate two flights daily on some days.
Currently, there is a significant increase in capacity for travelers from the US to Israel and from Israel to the US as we approach the summer season.
TP: How optimistic are you that travel to Israel will at some point recover to pre-October 7 levels?
EC: I don’t know about geopolitics, but I’m sure the travel industry will find a way to meet people’s demand and interest in Israel. So I’m optimistic.
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