Israel likely to reopen for tourists on November 1

Tourists at airport Photo: Shlomi Yosef
Tourists at airport Photo: Shlomi Yosef

In the first stage, only tourists from the EU and other countries with mutual vaccination agreements with Israel, will be allowed to visit.

The Israeli government is expected to announce that foreign tourists will be readmitted into the country from November 1. In the first stage, only tourists from some 40 countries, mainly EU countries, which have mutual vaccination agreements with Israel, will be allowed to enter Israel.

Only people who have had at least two vaccinations and have not passed six months since their second vaccination, or have had the third booster vaccination, will be allowed into Israel. These conditions will greatly reduce the number of tourists who qualify. Both groups and individual tourists will be allowed into the country.

In the second stage, Israel hopes to sign a mutual vaccination agreement with the US, which will allow in tourists from some states such as New York and California.

The Ministry of Health has yet to decide if it will demand that tourists from the US will also need to undergo a serological test to determine whether they have adequate levels of Covid antibodies. The Ministry of Health understands that such a test could act as a deterrent and may not stick by the demand. Such a test will not apply to tourists from Europe, under the mutual agreement with the EU.

The Ministry of Health is also considering allowing all vaccinated tourists to enter Israel from November 21, except from countries that require a visa to visit Israel.

As with all Israelis returning to Israel, foreign tourists will be required to show a negative tests from within 72 hours before boarding their flight and to take another PCR test on landing at Ben Gurion airport. They must remain in isolation until receiving those test results (within 24 hours).

Under the Israeli government's plans, tourists in groups will be allowed into Israel, if they have gone more than six months since their second vaccination. Such groups will be limited to a maximum of 1,000 entering the country per day and these tourists will be required to undergo antigen tests at the entry to sites that they visit.

Under the plan, Israel will accept vaccinations recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) including the various Chinese vaccinations but not Russia's Sputnik vaccination.

The Ministry of Health said, "As soon as the plan is finalized, we will approve it for publication in an organized fashion."

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on October 11, 2021

Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2021

Tourists at airport Photo: Shlomi Yosef
Tourists at airport Photo: Shlomi Yosef
groundcover founders credit: Yossi Yarom Israeli observability co groundcover raises $35m

groundcover has developed a “Bring Your Own Cloud” (BYOC) observability solution, redefining the architecture of a modern observability platform.

Tel Aviv Stock Exchange credit: Shutterstock MagioreStock Foreign investment in TASE hits five-year high

Foreign investors have been flocking to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in recent weeks, the TASE research department tells "Globes."

Elbit Systems tank turret systems credit: Elbit Systems Elbit Systems wins $100m tank turret systems deal

The Israel defense electronics company will supply its advanced UT30 MK2 unmanned turret systems to General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) to be supplied to a NATO European country.

Tomer Weingarten Photo: PR Trump targets SentinelOne exec in act of revenge

The US administration has suspended the security clearance of the company's chef intelligence and public policy officer Chris Krebs and everyone associated with him.

Tel Aviv Stock Exchange share prices rising credit: Tali Bogdanovsky TASE opens sharply higher after Trump U-turn on tariffs

The pause is being interpreted as a climb down after US President Donald Trump admitted he had made the move to calm the markets.

Ashot Ashkelon credit: Ministry of Defense Up 250%, Ashot Ashkelon wins another Defense Ministry order

The Israeli defense company's share price has risen 250% in the past three years since FIMI Opportunity Funds acquired control.

Liad Agmon credit: Eyal Izhar Insight Partners Liad Agmon steps down as managing partner

Serial entrepreneur Agmon has served as a partner at Insight Partners Israel alongside Daniel Aronovitz who set up the Israel office.

Shekels credit: Shutterstock Vladerina32 Shekel slide resumes amid escalating tariff war

The Bank of Israel is not expected to intervene in the forex market despite the sharp depreciation of the shekel.

Nir Zuk credit: Inbal Marmari Palo Alto Networks mulls buying AI security co for $700m

Sources inform "Globes" that on Palo Alto's radar is Protect AI.

President Donald Trump hosts Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu credit: Reuters Kevin Mohatt Israeli officials confident on US tariff concessions

Senior Israeli figures believe that concessions could be tied to progress on strategic regional political issues that are important to President Trump.

Phoenix Investment House CEO Avner Hadad  credit: Tommy Harpaz "The market has priced in all the bad things"

Phoenix Investment House CEO Avner Hadad says US markets could continue to fall, but that we are close to interesting territory for patient investors.

Tel Aviv credit: Shutterstock Tel Aviv slips in World's Wealthiest Cities ranking

Tel Aviv's position as one of the world's wealthiest cities took a big knock over the past year as it slipped from 42nd to 48th in investment advisors Henley & Co.'s "World's Wealthiest Cities" Top 50 ranking.

Leviathan platform  credit: Albatross C'ttee seen recommending no cut in gas exports

The Dayan committee on the future of the gas sector estimates that Israel's natural gas reserves will run out in 2045.

Accountant General Yali Rothenberg credit: Rafi Kutz Israel's fiscal deficit continues to narrow

The deficit narrowed in the twelve months to the end of March 2025, for the sixth consecutive month, Ministry of Finance accountant general Yali Rothenberg reported today.

Arkia credit: Arkia Arkia cuts Tel Aviv - New York April fares

Arkia has cut fares at the last minute, a time when prices usually soar even higher, according to the pricing method used in the industry.

Bank of Israel Governor Prof. Amir Yaron credit: Dani Shem Tov Knesset Spokesperson BoI Governor: US tariffs could push up inflation in Israel

Prof. Amir Yaron tells "Globes" that there is a risk that the new tariffs will cause inflation to rise in the US, with a knock-on effect for Israel.

Twitter Facebook Linkedin RSS Newsletters גלובס Israel Business Conference 2018