Conflict In Israel Hits Tourism Industry

Companies that specialize in tours and cruises to Israel and the Palestinian territories anticipate a long-term drop in business.

After Hamas' deadly surprise assault on Israel on October 7, most airlines had to cancel all flights to the country, as their first priority was getting their customers back home.

Only El Al, Israel's official airline, was operating a full schedule, with Delta, United, and American having cancelled the vast majority of the flights to and from Israel until further notice.

Most customers were flown to nations like Romania, the Czech Republic, and Morocco before returning home to the United States or elsewhere. However, getting those customers to the airport proved difficult as well, requiring "extreme care" from ground providers.

Moreover, as of the previous week, a number of tour operators and cruise lines, such as all three brands operated by Norwegian Cruise Line, have postponed their calls until the end of the year. On the other hand, other operators have announced that they will reevaluate cruise departures starting November, depending on the situation in the area.

Travel in the impacted area would likely be restricted for some time, also causing worry for Overseas Adventure Travel, which sends between one thousand and three thousand tourists to Israel annually.

While numerous cruise companies redirected ships from Israel last week, Royal Caribbean cancelled two October voyages on the Rhapsody of the Seas. These ships were originally scheduled to depart from Haifa, Israel, but were instead redirected to ports in Greece, Cyprus, and Turkey.

Also according to Ya'lla Tours president Ronen Paldi, the unparalleled size of the ongoing hostilities will "have implications for a long, long time."

Tour providers said that tourism to Egypt and Jordan, both of which are close by, was unaffected as of the previous week, despite an up-tick in questions concerning the safety of such trips.

 

Source: travelweekly.com