Evangelical Christian travelers would prefer to visit Israel on a trip led by a well-known Christian leader or Bible teacher, or with a group that includes their pastor and people from their church, according to a recent study by Infinity Concept and Grey Matter Research.
The study evaluated the responses of more than 1,000 American Evangelicals Protestants to examine their interest in traveling to Israel. Previous articles looked at how many Evangelicals’ have traveled to Israel and if these individuals consider travel to the Jewish State to be safe.
The survey gave Evangelicals options for how they might tour Israel. They could choose more than one option.
Some 50% said that they would consider traveling to Israel with a well-known Christian leader or Bible teacher, while 49% said they would want to go on a group tour with their pastor and/or members of their church.
This is especially the case among Evangelicals who are more engaged in their faith, the study found. This includes people who said they attend church and/or read the Bible regularly.
Forty percent said they would consider independent travel, while 39% said they would consider a trip led by a professional tour guide.
Less than a third of travelers said they would take a trip led by a historian (31%) or a community leader or someone they know (28%).
The way people want to travel is partially dependent on their age. Younger people were more likely to be interested in traveling alone (52% of people under 40), compared to not even a quarter (22%) of travelers over 70.
Israel’s skies were largely closed to tourists for most of the last two years, only recently opening up. Before COVID-19, in 2019, Israel welcomed around 100,000 American tourists per month. In 2020, fewer than 40,000 US tourists visited Israel the entire year.
The survey showed a strong desire by 40% of Evangelicals to travel to Israel and at least some interest in visiting by 80%.