Israeli tourists are returning to vacation this Passover after hesitating and seeing a decline in bookings last year due to intense fighting on multiple fronts. Gulliver presents a dramatic shift in consumer behavior – while last year only 40% of Israelis booked their vacation a month or more in advance, this year 70% opted for early bookings.
The war has had a significant impact on the tourism industry, but recently, several international airlines, including low-cost carriers, have announced the return of flights to Israel. This has created a sense of the skies opening up again, offering more booking options and providing Israelis with a broader range of choices for their vacations – an impact that has affected prices and helped Israelis find more affordable and attractive deals.
In addition, Gulliver data shows that Israelis are preferring to vacation in Eastern European destinations over Western Europe this Passover. Gulliver explains that the combination of proximity and the attractive prices of Eastern European destinations, along with the perception that these areas are more friendly to Israelis (unlike Western European destinations, where there is greater concern about anti-Semitism at this time), has made them particularly popular for this year's Passover vacation.
Nearly 50% of Passover bookings are for family vacations. The most popular vacation durations for Passover abroad are 5 days with 21% of bookings, 6 days with 18% of bookings, and 7 days with 17% of bookings.
Top Flight Destinations
The top ten flight destinations this year (in descending order) are Rome, Budapest, Dubai, Madrid, Prague, Crete, Tbilisi, Berlin, Athens, and Baku. Among these, Rome stands out positively with a 32% decrease in price compared to Passover 2023. The comparison is made to 2023 because 2024 was a war year, which did not characterize the market.
Top Vacation Package Destinations
The top ten vacation package destinations this year (in descending order) are Batumi, Rhodes, Paphos, Prague, Athens, Crete, Dubai, Budapest, Varna, and Tbilisi. Similarly to flights, fewer "relaxation" destinations are seen here. The reason is that Passover falls relatively early this year, and the weather will still be somewhat cool. Among the leading vacation package destinations, Rhodes stands out positively with a 22% decrease in price compared to Passover 2023.
Regarding domestic vacations, Gulliver notes that, as in every Passover, Eilat remains the preferred destination for a vacation. However, Israeli tourism is returning to the North and South out of love for these regions and a desire to support them, especially since they are resuming activities and are ready to host tourists again. Ahead of the holiday, many hotels in the North and South have reopened after taking advantage of the war period and evacuations to upgrade and renovate, and now they are prepared to welcome crowds of vacationers during Passover.
Tamar Gerzon, CEO of Gulliver: "Ahead of the upcoming Passover holiday, we see that Israelis are returning to book flights and vacations both domestically and abroad, following a challenging period in which the tourism industry almost came to a complete halt. Israelis want to vacation and have been waiting for Passover and the holiday days to break the routine. This year, we saw a significant increase in early bookings, driven by a desire not to compromise on spending time with family. It’s still possible to find attractive prices and last-minute deals, especially for flexible travelers."