“If I gave this interview with you two months ago, I would have told you that Israelis are truly safe,” said Israeli Minister for Tourism Haim Katz during a visit to London last week. “But now, I have to think before I say something like this.”
Katz was in London to attend the world’s biggest tourism fair, the World Travel Market, as part of an effort to put Israel back on the map for international tourists. But the minister is not trying to convince potential visitors to start planning their trip right away: “In another three months it will be okay, but not now.”
Katz said that this year’s tourism numbers – understandably – were a fraction of what the country usually expects. By the end of 2024 only about one million tourists are expected to have visited Israel, a steep drop from the 4.5 million welcomed in the peak year for tourism, 2019.
“Tourists are right to be concerned,” Katz admitted. “This is the situation and if you want to come, maybe wait a few months. Don’t take the risk. Postpone but don’t cancel your trip. It’s important for us that tourists will come to a quiet and nice place for the best experience. They need to feel safe.”
With tourism significantly down, Katz has shifted his efforts over the past year to rehousing the hundreds of thousands of displaced Israeli families who were forced to evacuate their homes due to the Hamas attacks in the south and the fighting in the north.
“I was responsible for all the evacuees – 130,000 people. You don’t hear any complaints in the media – and I’m from the Likud and not all the media like the Likud, but it was quiet about this issue. That’s the biggest compliment a politician can get,” Katz said.
His solution, which offered hotels money from the government in exchange for housing the evacuees, was mutually beneficial.
“But then we understood that families cannot live in this 20 square metre hotel room for a year,” Katz said. “So we made a plan to give families money so they can rent a house and they can choose where. Now in Eilat for example, there are 15,000 in hotels and 48,000 in rented houses.
“There are expectations on politicians that in emergencies we’ll be flexible and creative, and this is exactly what the office [of tourism] did in the last year.”
The Ministry of Tourism secured 70 million shekels (approximately £14.7 million) in assistance to retain essential workers in the tourism industry, and is currently formulating a policy for the rehabilitation of hotels that hosted residents evacuated from their homes, with an allocated budget of 200 million shekels (approximately £41 million).
Katz added that small businesses have suffered most, and urged future visitors to support independent hospitality companies by staying in boutique hotels when they do eventually feel comfortable to come to Israel.
But the push for tourists – especially British Jews, who make up a significant portion of yearly visitors to the country – is about more than economic stimulus.
“You want to support Israel: come to Israel. It’s not about the money. We walk around the streets of Tel Aviv and we want to hear tourists. We’re used to it. Last year for Israelis, that’s been hard. We feel disconnected from everyone.
“Visiting Israel is a vital show of support for Israel and her people, and when the time is right for you and your family, we are ready to welcome you with open arms,” said Katz.
Whilst flights are still disrupted, Israeli carrier Israir has announced a new schedule, with six weekly flights scheduled to take UK visitors directly from London Luton to Ben Gurion, Tel Aviv. The flights will depart from Sunday to Friday, from November 17.