Israelis more deterred by canceling flights than travel warnings

The Netherlands, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates are countries that are popular with Israelis and considered safe, but have recently been hit with travel warnings by the government. To make matters worse, earlier this week, Chabad’s representative in the Emirates, Rabbi Zvi Kogan, was kidnapped and murdered, and the National Security Council recommended against traveling to the Emirates, unless a visit is necessary, due to the threat against Israelis and Jews. This is the latest in a long list of travel warnings since the outbreak of war, but the situation appears to have worsened recently.

At the end of October 2024, the National Security Council announced a travel warning for Sri Lanka, which included a recommendation to leave the country immediately for those already there. Riots in Amsterdam and attacks on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans after a football match with Ajax led to a travel warning for the Netherlands and a recommendation for those there to postpone their departure, with Israeli airlines arranging rescue flights. This was followed by travel warnings not to attend sporting events involving Israeli teams in Italy and France.

If all this wasn’t enough to undermine feelings of security abroad, the National Security Council on Sunday raised its travel warning level for Thailand, having previously warned Israelis to be on alert due to a potential threat.

According to Aviation Links marketing chief Nir Mazor, travel warnings have an impact depending on the type of tourism, but Israelis have a relatively short memory. “If it impacts, it will mainly impact family vacations. It’s too early to know the impact, but at this point I don’t see a major impact.”

A senior tourism industry official reinforces these words, saying: “Travel warnings have a mainly local impact and for short periods of time, but Israelis are much more deterred by having to cancel flights, if warnings are issued immediately before or during a holiday.” “He-she.”

The National Security Council advises against visiting crowded events, minimizing the display of Israeli symbols and avoiding updating location details and travel plans on social media. Meanwhile, Israelis have also had to deal with new restrictions imposed last year, with the crisis in the aviation industry following the war, with most foreign airlines currently not flying to Israel.

Over the past week, Air France extended the suspension of its flights to Israel until the end of December, joining KLM, Lufthansa, ETA, Wizz Air and Iberia, which canceled all Israeli flights until the end of the year. Airlines including Delta, United, American, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, EasyJet and others have canceled flights through 2025.

Israeli airlines have struggled to fill the void and provide alternative supplies for the huge demand, and prices have risen accordingly. According to the October Consumer Price Index (CPI), prices rose 17% last month. As more and more airlines disappear from Ben Gurion Airport, prices rise as the flight date approaches, seats are booked more quickly due to high demand, and consumers find last-minute prices well before the last minute.

El Al has a monopoly on travel to destinations such as New York, Thailand and Amsterdam, and prices for flights to New York next month start at $3,620, as there are no longer tickets left in economy class. Destinations such as London, Paris, Madrid and Berlin, which are convenient connections for flights to the US or a classic European holiday, have only a few airlines left flying to them from Israel.

Mazur says the problem gets worse the farther away the destination is. “Major destinations such as Paris, London and of course the United States are suffering from a short supply of flights, which has worsened recently reducing connectivity options. For example, the lack of flights to Iberia to Madrid makes traveling to the city very expensive and makes it difficult to get to America.” South is almost impossible, destinations like Berlin have become relatively expensive, and ticket prices remain high in Bangkok.

Recent events and travel warnings affect Israelis, but mainly in the short term. According to Ophir Tours, there has been a 21% drop in searches for holidays in Dubai since the killing of the Habad actor in the UAE, but there has been no change at all in Amsterdam, and there has even been an increase in searches for Thailand.

“Thais highly value Israeli tourists and are interested in maintaining a strong relationship,” says Yoni Waxman, vice president of Ophir Tours. “According to data from the Thai Tourism Office, Israel ranks first in Europe and the Middle East in terms of the number of tourists per capita.” to Thailand, and fifth in terms of absolute numbers. This year, a record number of tourists to Thailand was broken – since the beginning of 2024, more than 226,000 Israelis have entered the kingdom – more than those coming from Italy and Spain. Or Türkiye By the end of 2024, a quarter of a million Israelis are expected to enter Thailand.

Published by Globes, Israel Business News – en.globes.co.il – on November 26, 2024.

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