Israel’s Tourism Director in London says he’s optimistic UK visitor numbers will begin to return to normal levels this year.
He said the launch of Wizz Air’s scheduled flight from London Luton to Tel Aviv earlier today ‘signalled another important step to the return to normalised travel’ for Brits.
Next month, Israel will host the Dead Sea and Tel Aviv marathons, while April will be a peak month for travel due to Passover and Easter. In June, the Tel Aviv PRIDE will take place.
In addition to Wizz’s relaunched service to Tel Aviv, easyJet has begun taking bookings for its flights to Israel, which are due to restart in March, and British Airways is also taking bookings for its likely return to service in early April, according to Israel’s Ministry of Tourism.
New data from the Ministry reveals that while travel from the UK dropped significantly after the terror attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023 – and its subsequent and ongoing conflict with Gaza – more than 79,000 visited from the UK last year, which was about 42% of 2023 figures.
On 13 December 2024, the Foreign Office (FCDO) relaxed its travel advice, no longer advising against all or all but essential travel to Israel. That month, 6,500 Brits travelled to the country, a 63% increase on December 2023.
Michael said: “We are cautiously optimistic for Israel tourism in 2025. Following the important changes to FCDO guidance, Israel expects to be welcoming guests in higher numbers from the UK who can now book with the renewed confidence that the change to government advise brings.
“We’re also looking forward to the near normalisation of air-travel to Israel and with Wizz and other airlines returning to a London/Tel Aviv schedule.
“We expect the market to normalise to bring prices back in line to pre-2023 levels and help encourage people to discover or rediscover the incredible travel opportunities and experiences our county has to offer. The tourism industry never stopped working in Israel and we thank the 80,000 visitors who came from the UK, now we are ready to welcome many more.”
