United Airlines and Delta Air Lines have announced plans to restart daily nonstop service between the U.S. and Tel Aviv, Israel, later this spring. That news is changing the conversation about Israel as a vacation destination, according to some travel sellers.
“There’s definitely renewed interest,” said Joanna Kuflik, senior vice president of Marchay, a New York City-based private travel collective.
“I'm getting some inquiries regarding leisure trips — not imminently, but for later this year and next year, which is fantastic,” added Kuflik, who is Jewish and lived for much of 2023 in Tel Aviv. “The news of United and Delta coming back is very optimistic and hopeful, and it’s making people here in the U.S. feel more comfortable with the idea of being in Israel.”
The news of United and Delta coming back is very optimistic and hopeful, and it’s making people here in the U.S. feel more comfortable with the idea of being in Israel.
In late January, Delta announced that it will restart daily nonstop flights between John F. Kennedy International Airport and Tel Aviv on April 1, returning nearly 2,000 weekly seats to Israel.
United, meanwhile, announced plans in early February to resume daily nonstop flights between Newark Liberty International Airport and Tel Aviv on March 15, and the carrier also reports it will add a second daily nonstop flight on the route as of March 29.
“Delta and United know there's demand,” said Michael Gelber, CEO of IWorld of Travel. “They're also being cautious and put it 30 [to] 45 days out. But they know there's demand, and it will pick back up."
Gelber says his company has seen an increase in bookings to Israel for later this year.
“Our history usually tells us that over the years, it takes about 10 months from when something stops — like this war that has taken place — for a leisure traveler to feel comfortable booking and going,” Gelber explained. “We're starting to see people wanting to book toward the fourth quarter.”
The Beginning of Recovery?
More than 1,200 people were killed on Oct. 7, 2023, in a Hamas-led attack on Israel, with more than 250 people taken hostage, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
More than 46,600 people have been killed in Gaza since, according to the United Nations, and another 110,000 there have been injured.
In 2024, there were 962,000 tourist arrivals to Israel, a plunge of 68% year over year, according to the Israel Ministry of Tourism (IMOT). However, arrivals jumped 44% year over year last December.
“We're at the beginning of the beginning of our recovery,” said Chad Martin, director of the Northeast region for IMOT. “The things that needed to happen for our mainstream tourists to come back are all falling into place.”
We're at the beginning of the beginning of our recovery.
Martin noted that first and foremost on that list of must-haves were the recent ceasefire agreements.
“We basically have a cessation of hostilities on all sides,” Martin said. “Does that mean all hostages are back? No. But the hostilities have abated. There's not an active conflict at this point, and [the uptick in interest] is very much due to that. You saw within days of this second ceasefire being announced, airlines started resuming.”
Martin said that as of April 1, air seat capacity on flights between North America and Israel will jump 36% year over year.
“That speaks to how much demand we've had,” Martin said. “I met with numerous other people just in our region in the New York area, and everybody just wants their flights back. They want a way to get back to Israel.”
What Should Visitors Expect in Israel?
Kuflik of Marchay visited Israel in January and July of 2024, spending more than three weeks in Tel Aviv last summer, as well as several days in Jerusalem.
“Everyone was out on the streets, on the beaches,” she said. “Restaurants were packed. Everything was busy. And in terms of the general mood of the people, it was very uplifting.”
Perhaps not surprisingly, Kuflik says she encountered far fewer English-speaking visitors.
“There obviously were a lot less tourists there this past summer,” she said. “But in terms of the vibe and the vitality of the city of Tel Aviv and also in Jerusalem — and elsewhere in Israel, too — it's definitely become a lot more upbeat and hopeful.”
Martin of IMOT last visited Israel in May 2024, and he notes that for the most part, popular visitor attractions and historic sites have remained open throughout the destination.
I think people need to decide for themselves whether they feel comfortable in that space. If they feel uneasy when they're there, it's not going to be a great experience for them.
“It doesn't mean that the residents have not undergone trauma; it doesn't mean there hasn't been an interruption there; and it doesn't mean that all the hotels are up and running and ready to receive 100% of [their usual] tourists,” he said. “But again, it's a recovery, so there's a long runway to when we're going to be at capacity — likely in about 11 months.”
Kuflik, for one, notes that she’s not yet ready to actively promote vacations to Israel.
“There is this renewed interest, and for me, I'm so happy about it, but it's definitely not a destination that I'm pushing people toward,” she said. “I think people need to decide for themselves whether they feel comfortable in that space. If they feel uneasy when they're there, it's not going to be a great experience for them. And we always want our clients and our travelers to have the most positive experience.”
