Decline in Tourism to Israel in October Due to War

Official data released today indicates that the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic resistance movement "Hamas" has led to a sharp decline in tourism to Israel in October. The Central Bureau of Statistics stated that "almost 99,000 visitors, most classified as tourists, came to Israel in October compared to 369,000 in the same month of 2022 and 485,000 in the same period of 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic." About 72.2 percent of those who arrived in Israel last month did so to attend the Jewish holiday of Sukkot in the first week of October, which ended on the seventh day of the month when Hamas fighters crossed from Gaza and invaded Israeli towns, triggering the war. Hamas fighters launched thousands of rockets at Israel, which responded with airstrikes on Gaza and a ground invasion of the territory. With no clarity on how long the war will last, tourism, a key driver of growth, is expected to recover slowly as it did after previous conflicts and following the COVID-19 pandemic. During the first ten months of 2023, 3.15 million people visited Israel, an increase from 2.2 million in the previous year but down from 4.01 million in the same period of 2019. The Central Bureau of Statistics also reported that "454,000 Israelis left the country in October, a month when many travel abroad for the Sukkot holiday, down from 828,000 last year."