It is no surprise that tourism in Israel has taken a significant hit amid the war with Iran. Ongoing uncertainty about the near future has led many travelers to remove Israel from their vacation plans. After all, few people are willing to spend their holiday running to bomb shelters or worrying about incoming missiles.
However, according to the Director General of Israel’s Ministry of Tourism, Michael Itzhakov, this perception does not reflect the reality on the ground. Speaking during a recent visit to Los Angeles, Itzhakov said Israel is, in fact, safer than many other destinations.
Itzhakov, 38, assumed his position last year at a particularly challenging moment for the country’s tourism industry. Since Oct. 7, 2023, the number of visitors has dropped by approximately 30%, impacting a wide range of businesses, including hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions.
It is difficult to persuade people to visit Israel when it is consistently portrayed in the news as a conflict zone. The images and reports emerging from the region — including the brutality of Hamas, hostage accounts, and missile attacks from Iran that have damaged buildings and caused civilian casualties — are often enough to deter potential travelers, even when things have finally calmed down.
“Do you know how many tourists were killed in Israel over the past two and a half years? None,” Itzhakov said. “Thank God, not one tourist was harmed. We are one of the safest places for tourists, safer than parts of Europe or South America. A woman can walk alone in the middle of the night and nothing would happen to her; I’m not sure that’s the case everywhere else.”
Los Angeles is the first stop on Itzhakov’s U.S. visit. He plans to meet with pastors, heads of major studios, the mayor of Beverly Hills, as well as leaders in the Jewish community. “I can talk about it all I want, and say it’s calm and safe here, but it’s not the same as witnessing it firsthand. People need to come and see that the country is full of life. There are restaurants, activities and a vibrant everyday reality. I believe in hosting them — you have to connect people to the country in a real way. It can’t be done through words alone,” he said.
(Israel Ministry of Tourism)
His goal is not to bring tourists this summer; he understands that Americans tend to plan trips well in advance and is instead focusing on next winter. “They aren’t as spontaneous as Israelis, who can, on a spur of the moment, book a flight to Greece or Rome. They like to plan ahead of time. We know that, and that’s why we act now, or we risk losing the entire next season.”
Speaking with The Journal, Itzhakov said he also intends to focus on the Jewish community in the U.S., not only the Christian communities that have traditionally been a central focus of outreach efforts. “For years, Jews were somewhat overlooked by the Ministry of Tourism. When I stepped into the role, I asked: Why are we only talking about non-Jewish tourists? There are about five million Jews worldwide, and two-thirds of them have never even set foot in Israel.”
During the early days of the war, Itzhakov said the Ministry of Tourism established a dedicated operations center to manage the evacuation of tourists, among them Birthright students.
“We set up a command center for evacuating tourists,” he said. “We transported them to the borders in Aqaba and Egypt by buses, communicated with them in multiple languages, and ran a virtual operations hub so that whenever there was a question no one could answer, the Ministry was there to respond. It was all free of charge,” he said. “We didn’t think about costs. It was simply the right thing to do.”
In total, arrangements were made for the departure of approximately 4,000 tourists by air out of Israel.
He added that the scale of coordination was significant, and that international recognition quickly followed. “We understood how successful it was when the U.S. ambassador, the British officials, and other ministers sent us letters of thanks. The Greek and Filipino governments also expressed appreciation. It’s not simple — we took responsibility and we did it because in an event like this, you cannot leave tourists behind.”
Surprisingly enough, many of the 37,000 tourists who were in Israel during the war chose to stay. “It was unbelievable. I was sure that within 72 hours there would be no tourists left in Israel, but they didn’t want to leave. Missiles were falling, people were running to shelters and they still didn’t want to go,” Itzhakov said.
He recalled how he met a group of American tourists at the Leonardo Plaza in Jerusalem while the war with Iran was ongoing. He asked one of them what he was still doing in Israel. The man replied, “I’m on my way to Tel Aviv to celebrate Passover on April First.”
War or no war, he wasn’t about to miss the Seder night.
He also recalled how an evangelical group arrived at the border of Israel and Egypt by bus and asked to enter. “They weren’t deterred by the war at all. I believe it was the first time ever the Director General of the Ministry of Tourism was actually trying to convince people not to enter,” he laughed.
During his visit to Los Angeles, Itzhakov also met with producers in an effort to attract film and television productions to Israel. The goal, he said, is not only economic, but also reputational — to bring international productions to the country and challenge the way Israel is often portrayed in global media.
Alongside cultural outreach, the Ministry is also focusing on investors and infrastructure. Itzhakov said Israel is actively encouraging tourism-related investment through targeted meetings and investor conferences. “We are holding investor conferences because we want to show entrepreneurs that we are with them,” he said. “We have marketing channels, and we are speaking directly with investors.”
According to Itzhakov, the Ministry has been working to ease regulatory and financial barriers for developers. He noted that approximately 17 new hotels are expected to open this year across the country. Traditionally, the government has provided grants of up to 20% for hotel construction, but he said new mechanisms are being developed to support projects more flexibly, offering investors higher levels of financing, including planning reforms and alternative land-use arrangements to help developers unlock financing. The Ministry will also help structure projects so that residential components can be used to finance hotel construction, allowing developers to raise capital through early housing sales while still expanding tourism capacity.
At the same time, Itzhakov addressed the ongoing challenges in air connectivity. He said that some airlines, including the Lufthansa Group, are expected to gradually resume flights to Israel after suspending service during the conflict. However, he acknowledged that limited competition has led to high airfare prices.
Israeli airline El Al had taken advantage of the situation, charging higher prices on flights. He is also going to participate in three conventions and launch a new campaign: “I Am Israel.”
He emphasized that restoring flights is critical to the recovery of Israel’s tourism sector. “Air travel is the Achilles’ heel of bringing tourism back to Israel,” he said. “Without it, everything becomes more difficult.”
This month, the ministry is also going to launch a new campaign: “I Am Israel.”
“We are not ashamed of our country,” he said. “There is criticism in the world, but also a great deal of love. We cannot win everyone over, but there are many who do want to come — and our job is to reach them.”
