"We're in a renaissance," says ISSTA VP sales and marketing Tali Noy. "We've recruited all our employees to answer the phones. I don't ever remember such a flood of calls."
Aviation Links chief marketing officer Nir Mazor said that last weekend the number of people on its website broke all previous records. Bookings surged for Passover holidays and summer vacations on last week's reports that the Israeli government planned substantially easing restrictions on overseas travel. Following cabinet approval for the lifting of restrictions yesterday, sales of overseas vacations will continue to rise.
From March 1, Israelis returning from abroad will no longer need a negative PCR test before boarding flights back home, thus removing the possibility of being stuck abroad. A PCR test is still required after landing at Ben Gurion airport. Unvaccinated Israelis will no longer be required to undergo isolation when returning from abroad. Unvaccinated foreign tourists will be allowed into Israel but all non-Israeli passport holders will be required to undergo a PCR test before boarding their flight to Israel as well as after landing at Ben Gurion airport.
Air ticket sales have triples
Data obtained by "Globes" from Automated Bank Services (TASE: SHVA), which is engaged in credit card clearing, shows that in recent weeks air ticket sales in Israel have tripled. Between February 8 and 14, a daily average of NIS 4.63 million was paid to airlines compared, with NIS 3.09 million in the first week of February, NIS 2.32 million in the last week of January and NIS 1.61 million per day between January 11 and 17.
Alice website CEO Yaniv Schuldenfrei said, "In the past two weeks wqe see a rise in booking for every day that passes with growth in bookings for the summer and even the High Holydays to such destinations as the US and Thailand.
The more people that recover makes tourists feel safer
Schuldenfrei sees a return to pre-Covid habits and behavior in booking vacations six months ahead of time. The most popular destination for the coming weeks, including Passover, include Istanbul, the US and classic European destinations like Madrid, Rome and Paris.
Flying Carpet VP marketing and sales Omer Cohen Maguri said, "I think we can say today for the first time that we feel we are in 2019." He added that booking have risen 300%. "The difference is that people are no longer phoning up to make enquiries, as was the case until now, they are phoning up to book."
Cohen Maguri said that the most popular destinations for booking are Turkey, Dubai, and the Greek Islands. "WE are beginning to see booking for the summer but the vast bulk of bookings are for vacations in March and April. The moment that the obstacle of isolation was removed that the decision on whether to vaccinate the children to fly abroad and avoid isolation, the dam was burst for families. Prices are still 30% lower compared with 2019, partly because of the weaker dollar but as demand rises, prices will respond. Judging by the rush we think families will travel both at Passover and in the summer, and with vacations in Eilat costing 40% more, it's no wonder that people are looking at the solution of an overseas vacation."
"Globes" found that a family of four wanting to spend the Passover holiday in Eilat will have to pay NIS 20,000-25,000 for four nights in a five star hotel and NIS 10,000-15,000 in a four star hotel.
Noy said that there are still return flights to New York for Passover for $900 but prices are rising quickly as the airlines spot an opportunity. "A flight to Barcelona yesterday that cost $500 had risen to $600 within an hour, and within two hours cost $700.
Schuldenfrei warns that Passover will be expensive. "During Covid there was a situation that a scheduled flight to Europe did not cost more than $200. That's something that can no longer be found, even with low-cost carriers. Meanwhile prices for the summer and High Holydays are still good but that will also rise."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on February 21, 2022.
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