Israelis flock to Turkey as travel warning eased

Istanbul Credit: Shutterstock Asian Ozcan
Istanbul Credit: Shutterstock Asian Ozcan

Even before the travel warning was eased, Israelis restarted booking trips to Turkey. Eshet Tours VP Shirley Cohen-Orkaby said.

The National Security Council Counter-Terrorism Bureau has eased its travel warning for Turkey for Israelis to level three (medium threat) from level four, which recommends abstaining from all travel.

The National Security Council said, "As part of joint Israeli-Turkish security services and diplomatic efforts, a number of attacks on Israeli citizens in Istanbul by Iranian organizations were thwarted. As a result, Turkish security forces located and arrested several Iranian terror gangs operating under the revolutionary guard and trying to use Turkish citizens to harm Israelis. These foiled attacks mean that the level of threat to Israelis in Turkey has been lowered."

Even before the travel warning was eased, Israelis restarted booking trips to Turkey. Eshet Tours VP Shirley Cohen-Orkaby said, "The capture of the Iranian terrorists, the visit of Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and the feeling that the situation has calmed down have given a huge boost to bookings of vacations in Turkey. We are currently seeing a jump of tens of percentages from last week and even more compared with the peak of the crisis."

Flying Carpet VP marketing and sales Oren Cohen Meguri tells a similar story. "Over the past few days we have seen how Antalya has returned to top place as a leading destination for new bookings for family vacations over the summer and holidays. Our call center has been flooded with enquiries from Israelis who canceled their vacation when the travel warning was in effect and are now asking to rebook." On rebooking Flying Carpet is refunding the cancelation fee.

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 28, 2022.

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2022.

Istanbul Credit: Shutterstock Asian Ozcan
Istanbul Credit: Shutterstock Asian Ozcan
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