Tourism begins returning to Israel following ceasefire – Washington Examiner
following a ceasefire agreement in the ongoing conflict between Israel adn Hamas, tourism to Israel is beginning to rebound, particularly among Jewish Americans. Before the conflict erupted, tourism was a vital part of Israel’s economy, contributing significantly to employment and GDP. However, tourism saw a drastic decline during the war, with a 90% drop in visitors by november 2023. Popular travel programs, such as Birthright, experienced an 80% decrease in participants.
Despite the war’s toll, visitors returning to Israel have noted the country’s resilience and a gradual return of tourism activity, with more people seen out and about compared to earlier trips during the conflict. supports for the economy through tourism have been emphasized, with messages encouraging Americans to visit and enjoy the country.
While overall tourism is recovering, volunteer trips have increased in popularity. some U.S.airlines are starting to resume flights to Israel, though others will take longer to return. Meanwhile, the impacts of the conflict remain palpable, with communities still grappling with the aftermath of the violence. Visitors are reminded of the tragedy yet witness daily life continuing in Israel, balancing moments of sorrow with signs of hope and resilience.
Tourism begins returning to Israel following ceasefire deal
News of the ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas sparked hundreds of Jewish Americans booking flights overseas to visit the country.
Before the war, tourism was a major sector of the country’s economy, but the tourism sector nosedived in 2024 amid the war. One entity that those who have traveled back have emphasized is the country’s “resilience.”
“Everywhere you turn in Israel, you are reminded of Oct. 7, but you’re also living at the same time,” Melinda Strauss, a popular TikTok creator whose account is dedicated to informing people about Judaism, told the Washington Examiner in an interview.
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Before the war broke out, tourism accounted for 3.8% of Israeli employment and 2.6% of Israel’s gross domestic profit.
According to the Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, the number of tourists visiting the country plummeted in the months after the war broke out. In September 2023, the country saw 300,000 tourists and by November that number had decreased by 90%.
Trips on the Birthright program, which offers free trips to Israel for young American Jews, have drastically decreased as well. In 2024, the program saw an 80% decrease in people going on these trips.
“Tour guides are suffering. A lot of them just have not had work, and 16 months later, they’re still suffering,” Strauss said. “The summer programs with all the teenagers — it’s just not what it was before the war.”
She has been traveling to Israel throughout the war going multiple times last year, but most recently traveled to Israel after the ceasefire was announced. Strauss said she noticed more people on her most recent trip out and about than she had previously.
Strauss stressed that traveling to Israel and supporting the economy is one of the best actions to take at this time to support the country.
“Have fun,” Strauss said. “By having fun, you are helping Israel.”
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One travel sector that has remained strong in Israel throughout the war, however, is volunteering trips.
“The only type of trip that is up is the type of trip that I participate on, which is a volunteering trip, where you come here and you help out, maybe you know small businesses, or you meet with people affected by the war in hospitals, or displaced Holocaust survivors,” Joshua Binder, a Jewish American who traveled to Israel after the ceasefire, told the Washington Examiner.
This month, he traveled with a group from his synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for a trip focused on volunteering but also touring the country.
In hopeful good news for the return of Israel’s tourism sector, demand to go to Israel from the US has only risen in the weeks since the ceasefire was enacted. Direct flights to the Jewish state sold out as only Israel’s main carrier, El Al, flys regularly scheduled flights to and from the United States at this time.
As for US carriers, United Airlines said they will resume flights from Newark, New Jersey to Tel Aviv in March and add a second daily route later that month. American Airlines, the world’s largest airline, will not resume flights until September 2025. Delta Air Lines was flying to Tel Aviv mostly throughout the war, but suspended their routes until March 31. Delta said they will resume daily flights between New York and Tel Aviv April 1.
Until then, flights remain expensive to travel from the U.S. to Israel. A low-cost Israeli carrier Arkia, which Binder said Israelis call “The Spirit Airlines of Israel,” launched its inaugural flight from New York to Tel Aviv recently.
Still, the pain of October 7 remains prevalent in the country. Weekly rallies are held in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv and posters for missing hostages remain up in Ben Gurion International Airport.
“Everybody knows somebody, and it’s a very tight-knit country. It’s about the size of New Jersey geographically. It’s ten million people overall, which might sound like a lot, but really is not a lot. So everybody knows somebody who was either injured or unfortunately was taken hostage or killed, so it feels very personal for people,” Binder said.
“This resilient energy where there’s sadness everywhere and there’s trauma everywhere,” Strauss said. and yet, in the exact same moments, you’re feeling those you’re also seeing smiling faces everywhere and people living their lives at the same time.
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