Tourism to Israel is up

A record number of tourists from North America visited Israel in 2015, though there was a small decline later in the year due to a spate of violence in the Jewish state. According to one travel agent in the Five Towns, however, the number of local travelers has not changed.

“In 2015, there were 620,345 visitors from the U.S. as opposed to 2014, which saw 602,639 visitors,” Shira Ansbacher, director of public relations for the Israel Ministry of Tourism in Manhattan, wrote in an email. “This is a three percent increase from the previous year.”

But tourism dipped in the last three months of the year, during a wave of violence that included sniper shootings at the Cave of the Patriarchs, a sacred Jewish site in Hebron, and a stabbing spree in Jerusalem, coupled with anxiety created by the Paris terrorist attacks.

“Certain months during 2015 (particularly October through December) saw a slight decline in tourism figures, which were reflective of travelers’ hesitancy to visit the country during a period of unrest,” Ansbacher wrote. “This is not unusual [for] Israel’s unique tourism trade, which has seen its share of ups and downs, but has undoubtedly increased gradually over time.”

Ellen Klein, branch manager of Tzell Travel Group of Long Island, in Hewlett, said that the number of Five Towns residents visiting Israel has remained constant. “The numbers haven’t changed since the stabbings, at least not from our agency,” Klein said. “With tourism, people go for family or religious reasons anyway. We’ve had no cancellations at Tzell. I know it’s bad, but that sort of violence could happen here anyhow. I don’t think this rash in crime is stopping people from traveling there.”

Klein agreed with Ansbacher’s assertion that travel to Israel is cyclical. “Tourism has its ups and downs,” she said. “Passover, for example, is heavy. January and February tend to have lower numbers anyhow. From April to October, and then again around Christmas, people travel there to take breaks with their families.”