While Israel has been making hopeful headlines with respect to both Greek, Cypriot, and UAE visitors during the pandemic recently, the middle eastern nation is still optimistic that North American visitors, including Canadians, will be able to resume as soon as this spring or summer.

Israel Ministry of Tourism deputy director for Canada, Jerry Adler, also points to Israel for “being at the top of the list for countries for mass Corona virus vaccinations to it local population…” – a status he says has prompted cautious optimism that the country will soon reopen to ‘Green’ countries and the international tourist market.

Adler adds, “The recovery will take a lot of effort and time, but we are optimistic that the uniqueness of Israel to our ‘bread and butter’ faith-based tourism market, and that of the growing leisure niches, will help re-enforce tourist confidence and bookings to Israel.”

While Israel, and the world, waits for a full resumption of travel, the country is taking definitive steps to prepare – many put into motion in 2020, a year that was expected to be a record-breaker for tourism in the country after a booming 2019. Instead, visitations dropped 81.3 percent year over year and flights and incoming tourists were banned for the first time ever.

To that end, the Ministry of Tourism has spearheaded a series of moves aimed at preserving the tourist infrastructure, both physical and marketing, to prepare and be ready for “the day after the pandemic.”

This includes initiating development of a master plan aimed at bringing back tourists in the middle of 2021 – a plan that includes adaptation to the corona era in all areas covered by the ministry’s activities – marketing, infrastructure and the tourist experience – as well as implementing programs to help sustain the tourism industry.

Among them:

• Eilat and the Dead Sea hotels area have been designated a ‘special tourist area’ allowing Israelis to vacation in these areas during the corona period, subject to restrictions and health protocols.

• In view of the importance of preserving hotel infrastructure, the Minister of Tourism promoted the release of NIS 300 ($117.4) million in grants to hoteliers and lowered the property tax conditions that affected the allocation of grants.

• Introduced various programs to assist tour guides, including free guided tours of nature reserves, national parks and cities, in collaboration with the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.

• The ministry conducted dozens of webinars given by leading tourism experts in order to help tourism business owners face the challenges of the pandemic, and to upgrade their business in advance of a return to activity.

• The ministry continued to market Israel through various media and digital outlets and held interactive activities online under the working premise that when the skies re-open around the world, there will be fierce competition for every tourist, and the countries that will be the first to act will gain an advantage.

• With the recent signing of the Abraham Accords, the ministry has developed a strategy to promote incoming tourism from the Emirates and Bahrain, including publishing a guide containing relevant information and tips designed to assist tourism industry professionals best prepare for the arrival of tourists from the UAE.

• The ministry (in cooperation with the Israel Land Authority) has marketed about 10 plots for hotel accommodation, thus advancing the process of building about 2,050 new hotel rooms.

• Grants totaling NIS 69.5 ($27.21) million were issued to tourism projects located throughout the country that received approval from the Ministry of Tourism.

• Work began on a tourism plan that includes a holistic view of regional plans, including and northern and southern outlines, in collaboration with research companies and local authorities. The plan takes into account accommodation, attractions, transportation and more in order to give the tourist more diversified destination options.

“The year 2020 continued the tourism records of the previous two years and there was an expectation that we would welcome, for the first time in the history of the country, the five millionth tourist,” said Ministry of Tourism Director General Amir Halevi. “Instead, the world stopped, and we moved into survival mode for the entire industry…

“Thanks to the vaccines, we are beginning to see the light of day, we are preparing tailored work plans and various tools for bringing back incoming tourism. We hope that in the coming months we will once again witness incoming tourism traffic, which is critical to employment and an important engine in the Israeli economy.”