Israel sees sharp decline in tourism amid onslaught on Gaza

By Cagri Kosak

ISTANBUL (AA) – As Israel continues its attacks on the blockaded Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, the number of tourists visiting the country has significantly decreased, leading to a contraction in the tourism sector.

In addition to the attacks by Israeli forces on Gaza, the clashes with Hezbollah on the Lebanese border since Oct. 8 and the escalation of violence in the West Bank have caused tourists to stay away from the country.

Since October, when Israel launched its attacks on the Gaza Strip, the tourism sector has seen a sharp decline.

In the first days of the attacks, there were problems with flights to and from Israel, and between Oct. 7 and Oct. 19, more than 40% of flights were canceled.

In October, tourism activity in the country decreased by 76% compared to last year.

According to the monthly report of the Israel Bureau of Statistics, approximately 89,700 tourists visited Israel in October.

Most of these visits took place in the first week of October before the attacks began. In October last year, 370,000 tourists visited Israel.

According to data released by the Ministry of Tourism, the number of tourists visiting Israel in November last year was about 370,000, while in the same month this year, it was only 38,000.

While the ministry aimed to break the recent record in the number of tourists this year with the global recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic period, the figures fell far short of this target.

*Writing by Gokhan Ergocun from Istanbul