Airlines Are Continuing to Come Back and Endorse Israel
Airlines are returning to flying to Israel: Low-cost airline EasyJet announced on Friday that it will return to flying to the country from June 1, 2025.
A day earlier, the Lufthansa Group, which includes Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings, announced that it would gradually resume its flights to and from Tel Aviv from February 1, 2025.
As a reminder, the Irish low-cost giant Ryanair also recently announced that it will resume operating a full flight schedule to and from Israel this summer, after not landing at Ben Gurion Airport since February 2024.
Israir to Launch Three New Destinations in Spring and Summer 2025
Starting June 10, 2025, Israir will fly once a week on Tuesdays to Basel, Switzerland. This destination serves as a base for Black Forest trips.
To Debrecen, Hungary – the company will fly twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays. Starting April 24, 2025.
Vilnius, Lithuania – the company will fly on this route twice a week on Sundays and Thursdays starting April 24, 2025.
Hila Hermolin-Ronen, Executive Vice President Marketing & Sales at Israir: “As part of listening to the needs of our customers, we are constantly working to expand the mix of destinations. We chose 3 destinations that combine different worlds, in addition to the company’s 30 destinations. Basel is located in Switzerland on the border of Germany and France and is a destination from which you can go on a family trip to the Black Forest”.
An Initiative to Bring Inbound Tourism to the Gaza Envelope
For the first time since the events of October 7, the Incoming Tour Operators Association in Israel is embarking on a unique initiative aimed at exposing the Gaza envelope to tourist groups who are expected to visit Israel while restoring and strengthening local businesses.
The Incoming Tour Operators Association in Israel has initiated a special tour for inbound tourism organizers. The tour will take place today, December 23rd – as part of the tour, participants were exposed to the stories of the region’s revival, alongside tourist sites and innovative initiatives that were born out of the crisis.
The Gaza envelope, once a symbol of Zionism, agriculture, and the pursuit of peace, was severely damaged by the events of October 7, 2023. Alongside the challenges and bereavement, new initiatives have emerged in the region that tell the moving story of the residents and their revival. With growing interest among audiences around the world, inbound tourism is seen as a significant tool for restoring the local economy and strengthening the region’s image in the international arena.
As part of the initiative, professional tours in small groups are planned for inbound tourism organizers. The tours will reveal a variety of sites and local businesses in the Gaza envelope, enable direct dialogue with tourists from the region, and help present the region as a major destination for inbound tourism to Israel. In addition, mentoring groups will be established to connect local tourists with tourism organizers, with the aim of upgrading the visit experience and adapting it to international audiences.
During the tour held today, participants visited a variety of key points in the region, with the aim of getting to know them and incorporating them into future plans for tourists. Lior Gelfand, Chairman of the Incoming Tour Operators Association in Israel: “The Gaza envelope is a symbol of the strength and resilience of Israeli society. This tour is the beginning of a process that will not only lead to the restoration of the local economy, but also to show the world the beautiful and courageous face of Israel and the message we want to convey to the world – of resilience, revival and connection between communities through inbound tourism. We recognize a growing interest from our colleagues around the world to include visits to the Gaza envelope as part of their trips to Israel, and to gain a first-hand impression of the reality in the region, including meetings with people who were there during the events of October 7. The Association is working to create experiential tours that will provide tourists from around the world with an authentic connection to the Gaza envelope and the people living there, while conveying messages about Israel’s resilience and its dealing with the challenges of reality, especially in the face of waves of slander in the international arena”.
A Surprising Number of Tourists will Arrive in Israel in 2025
While Israelis are eager to go on vacation outside the country’s borders, about 3 million foreign tourists are eager to enter Israel – according to the Ministry of Tourism’s forecasts for 2025. The estimated income expected for the Israeli economy as a result of their arrival is estimated at about 4.9 billion USD for that year.
The Iron Sword War did hurt incoming tourism this year, but about a million tourists still decided to conclude a visit here, and most of them belong to the same target groups on which the ministry is building the recovery of Israeli tourism.
- All rights reserved to the Israel Travel News Ltd.
