Tourists able to leave Israel after ceasefire
Tourists stranded in Israel during the Israel-Iran conflict were able to leave the country after an ceasefire was reached June 24 and Israel's airport and airspace reopened.
But Israel's tourism outlook, fragile since Hamas' October 7 attack that started the Gaza-Israel war in 2023, is unclear.
The Israel-Iran conflict, which began June 13 when Israel attacked Iran's nuclear facilities, brought Israel's recovering tourism industry to a standstill as tourists tried to leave the country. With Israel's airport and airspace closed, many tourists found ways to exit through Jordan and Egypt.
The Ben Gurion Airport had opened intermittently amid fighting on June 22, only letting out flights of no more than 50 people before resuming normal operations on June 24.
Even with the airport's reopening, it is unclear how quickly airlines will resume service to Tel Aviv. Delta has suspended flights to Ben Gurion through at least Aug. 31 and United through July 1.
Tour operator ETS, which offers Holy Land tours, canceled all trips to Israel for July, said David Welch, vice president of business development. The company also "paused new ticketing and outbound communications" related to 2025 Holy Land tours.
"This pause is not permanent. ETS will reassess tour viability in the near future based on updated guidance from local partners, airlines, global security briefings and potential diplomatic progress," Welch said. "ETS is evaluating fall 2025 programs and remains prepared to resume operations if and when regional conditions improve."
All ETS travelers who were in Israel when the war broke out have safely relocated or returned home, Welch said.
Ronen Paldi, who lives in Tel Aviv and is president of Ya'lla Tours USA, said no clients were in Israel when fighting began with Iran. He said it appeared that no tourist sites or attractions were damaged in Iran's retaliatory attacks on Israel.
Michelle Wiseman Kredi, a Florida-based travel advisor who specializes in cruises and Israel, did not have clients in Israel during the recent conflict with Iran. But she said that the pandemic, followed by the Israel-Hamas war and now the conflict between Israel and Iran, has made it difficult to book clients to Israel over the last five years. A client who had recently booked an October trip to Israel now wants to postpone.
Even with the most recent setback to Israel's tourism recovery, Wiseman Kredi believes "we're on the path there if the ceasefire sticks." Right now, traveler confidence is shaky but once tensions calm down in the region, she said, "people will go flooding back in."
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