Tourism to Israel sees 76% decline in October since war on Gaza

JURSELAM

Tourism in Israel fell by 76% annually in October because of the conflict in the Gaza Strip and the cancellation of the majority of flights to and from Tel Aviv, according to a report by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics.

The report on Monday noted that 89,700 tourists visited Israel in October, with the majority entering before the seventh day of the month, prior to the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation, a surprise attack launched by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, against Israel.

By comparison, international tourist arrivals exceeded 370,000 during October last year, highlighting the significant damage inflicted on the sector due to the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation and the subsequent Israeli war against Gaza.

Since the end of the coronavirus pandemic, Israel has launched promotional campaigns to encourage tourism in an effort to return to 2019 figures, which had not been achieved by the end of 2022, according to Israeli statistical data.

A report Monday from Secret Flights, a website that tracks flight data, indicated an 80% average decline in flights to and from Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv since the outbreak of the conflict.

The website reported that around 100 flights per day have landed at Ben Gurion Airport during the conflict, compared to 500 daily flights before the war.

Israel launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since the cross-border attack by Hamas a month ago.

At least 10,328 Palestinians, including 4,237 children and 2,719 women, have been killed. The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is nearly 1,600, according to official figures.

• Israel
• Tourism