Some 30,200 tourists visited Israel in April, compared with only 5,000 in April 2020, and 404,900 in April 2019, a decrease of 92.5% following the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
In the period January to April 2021, 46,800 tourist arrivals to Israel were recorded in total, compared to 733,500 in the corresponding period in 2020, a decrease of 93.6%.
Minister of Tourism Orit Farkash HaCohen stated that “the inbound tourism industry contributes about $7 billion a year to the state coffers. Hundreds of thousands of inbound tourists a month provide a livelihood for hundreds of thousands of workers who make up the broad tourism ecosystem. I am happy about the recovery but it is not enough.”
In the coming weeks, the first phase of bringing tourist groups to Israel will begin and the country will see “a gradual and responsible increase in the number of tourists” coming to Israel and “we will continue to work to expand the outline,” she said.
Israel is reopening its gates to vaccinated tourists starting at the end of May and is launching a strategic campaign to ensure as many tourists as possible arrive in 2021.
Israel will open to a limited number of vaccinated groups at the end of May, before allowing an unlimited number of groups to enter a month later.
The plan is that during July the skies will open to single vaccinated travelers, without the need to come as part of a group.
