Israel expects post-COVID tourism rebound this summer
Israeli experts do not expect tourism to reach this summer the record level of 2019, but they certainly notice a trend of increase on both outbound and incoming tourism.
Israeli tourism this summer is expected to register its best performance since 2019. The removal of coronavirus restrictions is set to boost outbound and incoming tourist numbers, although the record posted in the year preceding the pandemic at Ben Gurion Airport — about 24 million international passengers — is not expected to be surpassed in 2022. In terms of incoming tourists, Israel is still far from the peak of 2019 — about 4.5 million tourists — and according to estimates for the current year, the figure will come to roughly 2 million.
Despite the lower numbers, it is hard to escape from images published in the media in recent weeks regarding congestion at the airport, which has raised questions about the ability of Israel's aviation and tourism infrastructure to cope with the rapid increase in activity.
Currently, the most serious challenge that the Israeli tourism industry is facing is the shortage of manpower that exists at the major entrance gate of the country, but also in other professions within the tourism industry.
Ofer Lefler, spokesperson for the Israel Airports Authority, told Al-Monitor that the global aviation industry is in a deep crisis, and Israel is no different. Therefore, there are delays and congestion mainly for departing passengers.
